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LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 


PRINCETON, N. J. 





PURCHASED BY THE HAMILL MISSIONARY FUND. 





Diviston....c20c2n. 


BX)6493> .S85:'-1925 

Stewart, Walter Sinclair. 
Early Baptist missionaries 
and pioneers 








A \ OF rh ON 
J | 


BAPTIST MISSIONARIES AND pons 24 1925 


\ ~ 
Le oorear seuss’ 


Volume I 


EARLY BAPTIST 
MISSIONARIES AND PIONEERS 


By 
W. S. STEWART 


Edited by 
The Department of Missionary Education 
Board of Education of the Northern Baptist Convention 
276 Fifth Avenue, New York City 


PHILADELPHIA 


HE sD SO Ne PRESS 


BOSTON CHICACO LOS ANGELES 
KANSAS CITY SEATTLE TORONTO 


Copyright, 1925, by 
THE JUDSON PRESS 





Published July, 1925 


This book is lovingly dedicated — 


to my parents 


Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Stewart 


who first taught me the love of Jesus 
and His program of world redemption 





INTRODUCTION 


In the history of human affairs, the record of new 
knowledge and achievement always gathers about cer- 
tain outstanding figures, who have influenced the thinking 
of their times. In Christian history it is essential that we 
know the life-stories of missionary pioneers if we are to 
understand truly the growing influence of the religion of 
Jesus Christ. The history of the Christian Church is, 
indeed, written around these great personalities, who, 
encountering extreme opposition and hardship, both 
within and without the church, made bold to press their 
claim for the world-wide recognition of the supremacy 
of the Christian religion. No history which aims to show 
the conquests of Christianity can ignore these pivotal 
personalities. Some of them have profoundly influenced 
the thinking of their own generation, and many of them 
have changed the thinking of many generations. Some 
of them stand out like peaks in the mountain ranges which 
they identify. Some of them, inconspicuous in their time, 
championed causes which have changed the life of the 
world. Many of them rendered distinguished service as 
geographers, explorers, and linguists; and many more 
as evangelists, doctors, and educators. In the cause 
to which they gave themselves, they developed great 
abilities which they have consecrated to noble ends. 
The life-stories of these missionary pioneers are, there- 
fore, not only necessary for a knowledge of the growth 
of Christianity, but they are alive with thrilling interest. 


Introduction 


The contribution which Baptists have made to this 
host is quite conspicuous. The honor roll includes names 
which will never be forgotten in human history, and the 
stories of some of these are reviewed for us in this volume. 

The title of this volume suggests at once that other 
volumes will appear, and the entire series as now projected 
is as follows: 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers, No. 1 
Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers, No. 2. 
Later Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers, No. 1. 
Later Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers, No. 2 


These volumes are suited to the needs of student 
groups, summer conferences, and young people’s societies, 
and will be especially valuable for mission study classes, 
discussion groups, and reading courses. 

In gathering together in condensed form these bio- 
eraphical stories now scattered in many volumes, some 
of which are out of print or remotely accessible, the 
author has rendered a distinct service to Baptists every- 
where, and has made a valuable contribution to missionary 


literature. 
WILLIAM A. HILL. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 
DTROD MGTIO NB ererstae fin Gere als es cits Vil 

I. ESTABLISHING THE BOUNDARIES .......... 1 
IPRROGEREVY LULIAMSes tary fee ees Ree, a1 ee 15 
WPM VCO TAM 8 (ORRIN Sp cote eo aietene beatles vials SSI, Ses Piet 
ADO NIRA Mi | UDSON ted ct ciccatecc eat oe ase BM 8, 85 
Vie Nati | LIDSO Negrete ee et yer aky aia ieactoare: o« 113 
ELAR VTE TANG NIB B Gtr sale ste col os at Oo, 141 
Pe MVU ADAM Ee ELLER, ft agogea. ck feist ee ofc acs Seoie te LAr 
Wa Ns Gye ets USL Oe en A Sie SnD Saar es Oo Rr a aera oe 
eR Hale ASUING LE CK Niet ep.ye as. cc tacel ocetald yn att 229 


INEADEN Ge LSIST occas Sore ch, re acl Pe ete Piaf 





LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


OPPOSITE PAGE 


Roger Williams, Pioneer of Religious Freedom .... 20 


William Carey, Missionary, Linguist, Translator, 


PS DUTIUISTAN phere Se ete im ares totes cr Fete hese Ge foes 48 
Adoniram Judson, Apostle to Burma ...........46. 96 
Ann Hasseltine Judson, A Willing Sacrifice ........ 128 
Wiliam Knibb, Emancipator of Jamaica's Slaves ... 144 


Madame Henrietta Feller, Founder of Grande Ligne 
LSU SE Apache ee roe CREEL Ge har Bor 184 


Isaac McCoy, Champion of Indian Rights ......... 208 


John Mason Peck, Christian Pioneer of the Missts- 
CUS AE TENET spel Se a a aM at WA erage Taye . 240 





ESTABLISHING THE BOUNDARIES 


mn & KW NH 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER I 


. Missions began in the mind of God. 

. Jesus the first missionary. 

. Paul the first missionary of the church. 

. Modern missions begun in 1792 by William Carey. 


. The Baptist goodly heritage: 


(1) They were first. 
(2) They have gone far and wide preaching and teaching. 
(3) They were statesmen and prophets. 


. People were called of God: 


(1) Blessing of Christian home. 
(2) Training of Christian school. 
(3) Obedience to Jesus the ultimate purpose. 


ESTABLISHING THE BOUNDARIES 


“The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdom of our 
Lord, and of his Christ.”—Revelation 11: 15. 


Missions Began in the Mind of God 


The modern era of missions began in 1792. Since that 
date there has been an ever-growing interest in missionary 
work. The spheres of influence and fields of service are 
constantly increasing as the missionaries press onward to 
world conquest. This all had its inception in the mind 
of God, “The Lamb slain before the foundation of the 
world.” | 


Jesus the First Missionary 


Jesus, the Son of God, is the peerless missionary. ‘‘ God 
was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” 
Christ’s birthday in Bethlehem will always be observed 
as the day when “ Christ existing in the form of God, 
emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being 
made in the likeness of men.’ He is our perfect ex- 
ample of sacrifice, of love, and of devotion. As Living- 
stone epigrammatically said, “ God had only one Son, and 
he was a missionary.” 

All is in accordance with the perfect plan of God. 
His purpose was gradually being revealed to the sons of 
men in the ages before Christ. History and poetry, law 
and prophecy, all pointed toward Jesus, through whose 
sacrifice “men were to be born anew.” Darkness was to 


[3] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


disappear. Desolation and despair were to be overcome. 
Destruction and death were to be conquered by him of 
whom Isaiah wrote, “ God hath laid on him the iniquity 
of us all.” 

God’s heart was yearning over a sinful, dying world 
God’s plans were maturing for its redemption. Finally, 
the hour of divine omnipotence struck. The golden text 
of the immortal missionary book, the Bible, was written: 
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not 
perish, but have eternal life.” The urge of all mission- 
aries has since been “ the love of Christ constraineth us.”’ 
Their song of triumph has been 


The Son of God goes forth to war 
A kingly crown to gain: 

His blood-red banner streams afar, 
Who follows in his train? 


Their ever-growing hymn of praise is 


Lead on, O King eternal, 
The day of march has come. 


The victorious Christ led the heroes of the early church. 
Peter was the preacher of the sermon on the first Pente- 
cost. Stephen was the first martyr of the church, James 
the first apostle to suffer martyrdom that “he might 
follow in his train.” Time will fail me to tell of John 
Andrew, Thomas, Philip, Matthew, Mark, and Barnabas 
“who had trials of mockings and scourgings; bonds anc 
imprisonment; they were destitute, afflicted, tormented.’ 
They counted it a joy to suffer for him, if by so doing 
they might advance the kingdom of Jesus. 


[4] 


Establishing the Boundaries 


Paul the First Missionary of the Church 


Paul, the chosen vessel to the Gentiles, became the 
greatest missionary of the New Testament Church. No 
record of the book of Acts is more freighted with mean- 
ing and power than the thirteenth chapter, the second 
verse: “The Holy Spirit said, “Separate me Barnabas 
and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.’ ”’ 
The church will always think of that as the real beginning 
of active foreign missionary work. 

How tireless was Paul, the missionary! No task was 
too difficult for this intrepid disciple of Christ. He was 
determined “to know nothing among them but Jesus 
Christ and him crucified.” He wrote the golden text of 
his life into the very fabric of his being. His letters, 
his deeds, and his life became the embodiment of his 
life purpose: “I have been crucified with Christ; and 
it is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me: 
and that life which I now live in the flesh, I live in the 
faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved 
me and gave himself up for me.” 

Missionaries have all studied his life to gain a deeper 
insight into the cause of his constant victories. The 
church does well today to see this man obeying the last 
command of Jesus, “ Go ye into all the world, and preach 
the gospel to every creature.” He went under the direc- 
tion of the Holy Spirit. He preached equipped with 
knowledge from on high. He established churches in 
centers of influence, and helped them to radiate for miles 
around their Christian gospel. He wrote letters which 
are today part of the Holy Book of God. He was never 
content with just introducing men to God. Nor was he 


[5] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


content in seeing men “‘ saved by grace”’; or in establish- 
ing churches. Rather, did Paul work and pray that the 
Christians “might grow to the measure of the stature 
of the fulness of God.” He was willing “to be all things 
to all men if by some way he might gain some.” 

Today Paul is still the outstanding missionary of the 
church. The study. of his life gives constant inspira- 
tion. The books he has written have become not only a 
part of God’s Book; but they have become also a part of 
the impetus and incentive to take men and women into 
life work for God. 

After Paul’s death the church carried on. The zeal 
of the early Fathers was translated in lives of devotion 
and sacrifice until practically all the known world heard 
the story of Jesus and his love. And then? God always 
had a witness. Through the darkness and shadow of the 
Middle Ages; through the bloodshed of the early Prot- 
estant Reformers; through the deeds of dissenters and 
non-conformists there was always a company, a group, or 
scattered individuals who were true and faithful. They 
did not bow the knee to Baal. They believed “the blood 
of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” 


The morning light is breaking; 
The darkness disappears. 


Modern Missions Begun in 1792 by William Carey 


The church entered on a new era in 1792. To William 
Carey, the Baptist preacher, belongs the credit of awaken- 
ing the church from its lethargy and its self-satisfaction. 
When he made his proposal, however, his words were 
not greeted with enthusiasm. One man said, “ Sit down, 
young man, if the Lord wants to convert the heathen, 


[6] 


Establishing the Boundaries 





he'll do it without your help.” That young man today 
is thought more of by earnest Christian students of his- 
tory than Napoleon Bonaparte, his contemporary. He 
looms above the men of his day as.a seer, a prophet, and 
as a Christian statesman of the very highest order. 

William Carey was a Baptist. Is he only a Baptist? 
Does he not belong to the whole Protestant church? Did 
he not open up India so that all denominations might 
work there? To William Carey is the credit given of 
starting the enterprise of Modern Missions. 

Who shall say then that William Carey is theirs and 
theirs alone? What branch of the church claims Living- 
stone to the exclusion of all others? Is the work of 
Robert Morrison a contribution to his denomination, or 
to the bringing of the kingdom of God in China? These 
great pioneers went out, “not knowing whither they 
went.” They knew they had not here an abiding city, but 
they were seeking “the city which is to come.” They 
served. They struggled. They died. ‘ There was many 
a heartache, many an anguish, many a tear.” They were 
faithful unto death. The challenge of their sacrifice has 
become the urge of the whole church. 

What has been our contribution? What have Baptists 
given not of money but ef men for the salvation of 
the world? Have Baptists been among the pioneers? 
Are we content to follow after another has blazed the 
trail? Has the practise of our lives equaled the confes- 
sion of our lips? ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach 
the gospel to the whole creation.”” Have we waited for 
the paved road, and the motor-car? Have we been will- 
ing to bear the brunt of the fight, to receive the scars of 
the battle? Can we as a denomination say with Paul the 


[7] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


missionary, ‘I bear branded on my body the marks of 
Jesus”? 


The Baptist Goodly Heritage 


Baptists have a goodly heritage. Many of our number 
are counted among the immortals. Men and women who 
have given their all, not for the praise of men but for 
the glory of God—to them we owe a great debt. The 
world’s histories have marked some of them. How much 
more should the life of our denomination appreciate to 
the full the debt that is ours, and the heritage that we 
enjoy because these Baptist missionaries and pioneers 
were willing to go out and serve under the command of 
him ‘‘ who came to give his life a ransom for many ”’! 

Their names are many. Every student of missionary 
history can name tens of folks worthy of consideration 
and deserving of honor for the accomplishments of their 
lives. Who shall be chosen from among this group 
as deserving of a place in these books on “ Baptist 
Missionary Heroes”? To ascertain the judgment of 
English-speaking Baptists letters were written to the dif- 
ferent Mission Boards of the Northern and Southern 
Conventions, the Canadian and the English Boards. 
Prominent Baptists in these countries were asked to make 
out suggested lists of names of folks who were worthy 
of a place in this galaxy of heroes. Letters were received 
from all over the English-speaking world. Where it was 
possible missionaries who had served many years on a 
field were interviewed and their opinions recorded. All 
these letters and interviews were carefully compiled and 
a consensus of judgment has been reached. Different 
folks will have others perhaps as worthy of honor as 


[8] 


Establishing the Boundaries 





those who have been chosen. No group of Bap- 
tist heroes, however, are more worthy of emulation of 
their deeds, or were more faithful to their Lord and 
Master. 

Every large field of Baptist activity is studied. The 
great missionary sectors of Baptist work are considered 
in their native state. Men and women have been chosen 
from the ranks of missionaries who represent real pioneer 
activity: those who have displayed heroism in théir ser- 
vice; those who have gone into the unknown places of 
the earth; men who have been hunted and hounded; 
women who have undergone privation and want; pioneers 
who have opened virgin fields and barren wastes of 
humanity and prepared the ground so that these are today 
veritable gardens of the Lord. 

The outreach of the denomination is world-wide. The 
extension of its missionary activity 1s continental and 
tribal. Into interior Africa, up the great Congo River 
for hundreds of miles, we go with Grenfell. Over to 
the largest nation on earth, and we see the people of 
China receiving the gospel. Across the Yellow Sea to 
Japan, and on the Inland Sea we go with the immortal 
Bickel. Down to caste-ridden India, and around the 
Baptist Bay of Biscay we study with Carey and Thomas, 
with Mr. and Mrs. Judson, and with John Clough. We 
visit the great continent of Europe and study early Bap- 
tist beginnings under Oncken. We cross the sea again 
to America, stopping to visit Jamaica and know Knibb. 
Then we look over our great continent of North America, 
and note the consecration of the sweet woman from 
Switzerland, Madame Feller. We mark carefully the 
daring of Peck and McCoy. We close our tour with the 


[9 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


Fireside Schools of the South and their consecrated 
founder, Johanna P. Moore. 

We are to study the lives of men who changed the 
character of nations; of women who elevated whole races 
of people; of men who became the advisers of kings 
and who were called into private conferences by presi- 
dents and rulers; and of men and women whose impress 
on the civilization of the world looms higher and higher 
the farther away we get from their lives. They changed 
the course of history. They were seers and prophets 
whose one thought was to push on in his name. 

The more familiar we become with the history of the 
lives of these men, the plainer is the hand of God in it 
all. It is very evident, “ There is a destiny that shapes 
our ends, rough hew them how we will.” These heroes 
tried to seek other avenues of service besides the ministry 
and the missionary work. After being led to a decision 
for missions, and after answering the summons, they 
sought their own fields of service. Carey would go to 
the South Seas, but is sent to India. Clough wanted to 
work with the Chinese in Siam, but God sends him to 
South India. The purposes of God were being carried 
out. As life after life is studied, the leadership of God 
in the lives of his consecrated followers becomes more 
and more obvious; and the wisdom of the Eternal in his 
choice of men and of their fields of service is a constant 
cause of thanksgiving. 


People Were Called of God 


When God needed a prophet for his people he had a 
boy placed in the temple under the care of the old priest 
Eli. This boy was dedicated by his mother at birth to the 


[ 10 | 


Establishing the Boundaries 


service of the Lord; and she gladly placed him in the care 
of the man of God. Samuel became one of Israel’s 
greatest prophets because he had been reared in godly 
surroundings. Who can measure the influence of the 
family altar and Christian parents on these missionary 
heroes? Their homes were nurseries of piety and homes 
of righteousness. They were taught by Christian parents 
to reverence God’s day, God’s house, and God’s book. 
First impressions are the most lasting. The value of this 
early training is of incalculable worth in the instilling of 
patient endurance, Christian fortitude, and faith “ that 
knows no wavering.” These parents believed and prac- 
tised the adage of the Old Testament philosopher, “ Bring 
up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old 
he will not depart therefrom.” Their children actualized 
the truth of this Bible passage in lives that remained 
faithful. 

Abraham Lincoln put into one sentence, however, the 
most important contribution that men can make to world 
uplift. In that masterly Gettysburg address, he said: 
“Men will little note, nor long remember what we say 
here; but they can never forget what they did here.” 
Men may little note nor long remember what these mis- 
sionaries said. They may not even remember their birth- 
place, or their divine calling, but they can never forget 
the deeds of these immortals. It is not what Jesus said, 
but what Jesus did that saves men. John 3 : 16 may be 
the essence of the gospel, but it is only so because he 
hung on the cross. Paul may say, “I count not my life 
dear unto myself”; but that did not make him great. 
Rather was it because that verse today typifies his sacri- 
ficial life that he is one of God’s chosen. 


[11] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


Men and women may be called of God to be mission- 
aries. They may be reared “in the fear and the admoni- 
tion of the Lord.” They may be taught in the schools by 
master minds possessed by godly men. All of this may 
be true, and still they may not reach the height of heroism 
or make an impress on the heathen world. Read it again, 
“They took knowledge of them that they had been with 
Jesus.” In such close fellowship were Peter and John 
living with Christ, so closely were they following the 
teaching of him whom the Jews had crucified that even 
the unsaved realized these apostles were living the cruci- 
fied life. 

There is the culture of the Christian home that is 
beneficial. There is the culture of the Christian school that 
gives a poise to the life not otherwise attained. There is 
the culture of the Cross that is all important, and is 
within the reach of all. Men may be physically trained. 
Men may be mentally alert, and thoroughly equipped. 
Still such men may fail God. The lives of these Baptist 
heroes and heroines teach us that it is the Christians 
whom God appoints that win the victory for the kingdom 
of God. The shoemaker of England can become the 
great linguist and scholar of India. The man who never 
finished his schooling became the shepherd of the islands 
of the Inland Sea. It was all through obedience to the 
Crucified. 

“ Study to show thyself ...a workman that needeth not 
to be ashamed.”’ Read every book and take every course 
of study that will make men more proficient to serve. 

Most necessary of all, most important—do his will 
more. It is not by the might of the intellect of men that 
the world is evangelized. It is not by the power of our 


[12] 


Establishing the Boundaries 





organizations or the multiplicities of our forces that the 
world is brought to Jesus. It is by Spirit-guided men and 
women, it is by Spirit-controlled men and women, it is by 
Spirit-impelled men and women, that the world hears the 
gospel message. Isaac McCoy went out to serve, not 
knowing what sorrow, anguish, and heartache awaited 
him. He was willing and glad to go because of his love 
for Jesus. It is the missionaries who seek the approval 
of God, his love, and his presence, and who make their 
Christian service verdant with the graces of Christian 
love, that bring the world to the Saviour. ‘‘ Who follows 
in their train? ” 


[13] 





Il 


ROGER WILLIAMS 


mm & W DO = 


SOAMnND 


—" 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER II 


. Roger Williams born in London, England. 

. Arrived in America in 1631. 

. Banished from Massachusetts Colony, October 9, 1635. 

. Founded Providence, Rhode Island, in 1636. 

. Baptized in 1639; helped to organize the First Baptist Church 
in America. 

Made two trips to England to secure charters. 

. Translated the Bible for the Indians. 

. Died in Providence in 1683. 

. The Baptists the most persecuted denomination in America. 

. The pioneer of religious freedom. 


ROGER WILLIAMS 


“Tf any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teach- 
ing, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from myself.”— 
HOUn sa ts 


No book of Baptist heroes would be complete without 
the life-history of Roger Williams. He was the first mis- 
sionary to the Indians of the United States. His work 
among them antedates that of Eliot by twelve years. He 
was a pioneer and the founder of the Baptist Church of 
America. Though he lived and did his work one hun- 
dred and fifty years before the time established as one of 
the boundaries of this book, so important is his contribu- 
tion that familiarity with his life is of necessity essential 
to the full understanding of the missionary heritage of 
Baptists. 

Roger Williams’ most essential and most valuable con- 
tribution to America is that of soul-liberty. All men and 
women of the United States regardless of creed owe a 
debt to him. In the face of opposition, in the condition of 
banishment from the Massachusetts colony, in the throes 
of a New England winter Williams remained true to his 
ideal. Because of his suffering all America may rejoice 
in religious freedom. The intense struggle for liberty in 
religion, begun almost three hundred years ago, is still 
on in the world. Political democracy, however, is bring- 
ing in the day of religious democracy. The dawning of 
the Baptist day is at hand. The adequacy of the soul 
before God is being recognized. Large is the heritage of 
Baptists, tremendous their responsibility. 


[17] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


Anguish, pain, and blood are the marks on this highway 
leading to religious liberty. Suffering, despair, and death 
was the lot of the men and women who dared to follow 
on this road. Ridiculed, persecuted, and punished were 
the leaders in this campaign. Yet Williams and his fol- 
lowers were faithful, trusting him whom they worshiped 
to guide them. Time has lifted the veil and helped us to 
place the right value on Roger Williams as the. first 
American to actualize freedom for body, mind, and soul 
in a commonwealth. 


Born in London, England 


Roger Williams was born in London, England, in the 
first year of the seventeenth century. Those were days 
of religious ferment. As the young Roger played with 
his brothers and sister around his father’s tailoring shop 
he must have heard some very heated arguments. Luther 
had startled the world with his Reformation almost one 
hundred years previous. Since that time there had been 
religious persecution and religious wars, and the whole 
world was astir with battles between the Roman Church, 
the Established Church, and the various sects of Dis- 
senters. Blood was shed on all sides. Theological dis- 
putes were the common talk of the day. 

Roger, growing up in this city and in these environs, 
became a quick-witted lad. He learned a new system of 
writing that had just been introduced into England, called 
“shorthand.” This proved to be very valuable to him. 
It was the means of his winning the friendship and patron- 
age of the Judge, Sir Edward Coke. This patronage 
brought him culture. The judge had him placed in the 
institution where the novelist Thackeray was educated, 


[ 18 | 


Roger Williams 


the Charterhouse School. He continued his studies, going 
on to Pembroke College, and graduating from there in 
1627 with the A. B. degree. 

Williams loved argument and controversy. He was 
always seeking discussion, and was most delighted when 
he could share in a heated theological debate. This no 
doubt was one of the reasons why soon after his. gradua- 
tion he came into conflict with the Established Church 
and drew the suspicions of the archbishop. He would 
not be coerced by force, nor would he be quiet on the 
beliefs that he held dear to his soul. 

Persecution increased, and Williams testified in after 
years, “ I was persecuted in and out of my father’s house.” 
So severe were the pronouncements, and so intense and 
wide-spread the efforts of the Established Church against 
all Dissenters, and especially against Williams, that he left 
England for America. He wanted to go to the land to 
which the Pilgrims had fled only a few short years pre- 
vious, where he could worship God “according to the 
dictates of his own conscience.” 


Arrived in America in 1631 


He married Mary Warned, and they sailed from Bristol 
on December 1, 1630, which he later said ‘‘ was as bitter 
as death.” He wanted to stay in England. He loved his 
folks and his native land. His was a character that re- 
joiced in the fellowship of his friends. He was so true 
in his thinking, he was so honest in his beliefs that, though 
it pained him in every fiber of his being, he would leave 
all, give up all, rather than surrender what to him was 
dearer than life itself, his religious convictions. 

When he arrived in Boston a similar test of the honesty 


[19 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





of his convictions awaited him. This time not in the mat- 
ter of attachments to parents and native land, but in the 
matter of an income whereby to keep his own home was 
the test made. Was he willing to teach in the Boston 
church? Would he accept that position, which not only 
meant an income to him but also something of prominence 
in his new colony? The Boston church was still, how- 
ever, unseparated from the Established Church of En- 
gland. Again did the iron of his soul appear as he declared 
that unless the church would sever its relation with the 
Established Church and repent publicly of clinging to 
what Williams believed was contrary to Bible teaching, 
he would refuse to teach for them. This somewhat 
shocked these early colonists who looked upon their church 
as absolutely correct. A life that had already undergone 
such ridicule was willing to endure even that of these 
new-made friends rather than compromise his religious 
beliefs. 

Williams was next invited to become the assistant at 
the church at Salem. This position he accepted in the 
early part of 1631. The man who had so daringly refused 
to teach in Boston was not to be let alone by the church 
there. As soon as they learned of his work at Salem 
the General Court in Boston registered a protest with 
the Salem church. After six months of service Williams 
left the work at Salem and joined the church at Plymouth, 
where the brethren were Separatists. 

Plymouth became his home for two years, where he 
assisted the pastor in his work. This was the com- 
munity where he first came into contact with the Indians. 
His heart’s desire was to help these aborigines. He im- 
mediately set out to learn their language and to cultivate 


[ 20 | 





ROGER WILLIAMS 


Pioneer of Religious Freedom 


a, ee 
‘7. 





Roger Williams 





their friendship. He recognized in them souls whom 
Jesus died to save, and he early desired to win them for 
Christ. All this work for the Indians was like bread 
spread on the waters, “he found it again after many 
days.” These men whom he was now seeking to win 
became his protectors when devastation and destruction 
reigned. 

During his stay in Plymouth a baby girl was born, his 
first child. She was named after the mother and proved 
a comfort to her parents as his foes gathered strength 
because of his so-called “advanced views.” When the 
storms without were raging he had a united and loving 
household, determined to be true to the convictions that 
had brought them so many hundreds of miles from their 
Motherland. The family moved back to Salem when 
Williams had an opportunity of becoming assistant 
teacher. Upon the death of Skelton, the teacher, Wil- 
liams was elevated to be the teacher in August, 1634. 
This position he only held a short time, however, due to 
the unwillingness of the church to take an advance step 
by withdrawing from the association with other churches 
of the colony. He left the Salem church after a year 
of such service. He would not flinch. He would not 
retrench. He would stand his ground without any quiver- 
ing. He was whole-heartedly committed to the policy 
of the complete divorcement of Church from State. Life 
was too short, and his ideals too precious to sacrifice 
them for the sake of neighborly friendship, or the opinions 
and judgments of the court at Boston. 

A storm of such proportions took considerable time 
to gather. A storm of such seriousness must ultimately 
break. Backed by such ecclesiastical authority, it was 


[ 21] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


sure to have wrapped up in it some of the prejudice, the 
bigotry, and the religious hatred of that day. Yet, with 
it all, in these after years we say it was the misdirected 
zeal of the church leaders of the Massachusetts colony. 

Williams was now summoned to appear before the 
General Court in Boston, which was to convene in Octo- 
ber, 1635. All sorts of rumors were about as to his 
probable fate. The rule of men was again going to try 
to destroy a man “called of God.’ Some desired to 
kill him. Others suggested sending him back to England. 
Still others thought that the matter could be healed by his 
banishment. First, he must be heard. Perhaps he desired 
to recant. Perhaps he was willing to repent and humbly 
seek forgiveness of these men. The court, therefore, 
convened in the church at Cambridge. 

Does Williams desire to be reinstated? Is he willing 
to face these men—knowing their opinions—and not at 
least plead for mercy? Will he still follow the gleam? 
Another soul-battle was on. Walliams was equal to the 
emergency. He held to his positions. He maintained 
with all the integrity of his character his right to his 
convictions. No court of men, and no decision of men, 
no matter how severe, would cause him to change. The 
battle for religious freedom was on that day in the old 
historic meeting-house between the church fathers of the 
Massachusetts Bay Colony and this intrepid, fearless 
Englishman. 


Banished from Massachusetts Colony 


There was only one thing for the court to do, and 
that it did with alacrity. On October 9, 1635, it ordered 
his banishment. Part of the order was as follows: 


[ 22 ] 


Roger Williams 


Roger Williams hath broached’ and divulged new and danger- 
ous opinions against the authority of the magistrates . . . it is 
ordered that Mr. Williams shall depart out of this jurisdiction 
within six weeks, not to return any more by order of the court. 


His health was poor, and so a stay of sentence was granted 
until the following spring. During the winter his second 
daughter was born, and she was called “ Freeborn.” 
Every act of his life, even to the naming of his children, 
was now the carrying out of his firm beliefs in God. 
Even though the edict of the court hung over him it did 
not restrain him. He kept actively promulgating his doc- 
trines and securing disciples to his views. Williams was 
like Peter of old and could say with him, “ We must 
obey God rather than men.” No other one verse so 
typifies his life and his purpose as this one. . 

The court that had issued the edict of banishment was 
not content that he should continue to teach these 
“dangerous opinions.” At the first meeting of the new 
year in 1636 it was decided to send him back to England. 
Mankind has always been content to pass its unsolved 
problems on from one community or country to another. 
Due to his sickness he could not go. The ire of the court 
had been raised, however, and the leaders were deter- 
mined not to permit this disturber of the ecclesiastical 
peace to remain with them. Thereupon Williams fled 
into the wilderness and fulfilled the order of banishment 
issued by the court three months previous. 

Heretofore, his suffering had been in the fellowship 
of his wife and home. Now he leaves all behind. In 
after years in writing of his experience he says: “I was 
sorely tossed for fourteen weeks, in a bitter winter season, 
not knowing what bread or bed did mean. I bear to this 


[ 23 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


day in my body the effects of that winter’s exposure.” 
Williams spent part of the time with his Indian friend, 
Massasoit. The cold and the hardships were felt more 
by him this winter, for he had been in ill health for 
about six months. Still his ideals were clear. No matter 
what the anguish, he would fight on. His religious belief 
and his sincerity even in these days of banishment and 
pain have reaped for America the blessing of religious 
freedom. 

After this season of suffering he was joined by his 
family and four friends at Seekonk Cove, toward the 
first of May. He was, however, still in the territory of 
the Bay Colony, and was warned that the authorities had 
learned of his whereabouts and intended to exercise the 
order of the court to the fullest extent. After two 
months’ sojourn, he and this group crossed the river and 
landed outside the Bay Colony nine months after the 
order of his banishment. At the place of their landing 
there is today a monument to mark the spot. It is called 
“What Cheer Rock.” This name has been given to it 
because the Indians on the shore greeted them with that 
salutation, “ What cheer? ” 


Founded Providence, Rhode Island, 1636 


This group were the true pilgrims, the true pioneers of 
freedom. Accepting the verdict of men, they left behind 
the colony that was dominated by religious intolerance 
to establish a new land where all men would be respected, 
and where “every man,” said Rabbi A. Simon, “ believer 
or disbeliever, Gentile, Jew, or Turk, would have un- 
trammeled opportunity for the display and exercise of the 
faith within him.” There was not only the absolutism of 


[ 24 ] 


Roger Williams 


Rome; but he was also fighting the bigotry of the Prot- 
estants who, while claiming liberty from the Roman yoke, 
were demanding that their beliefs become the accepted 
law of the land. No rule of church and no power of court 
could touch Williams and his people now. They stood 
on free land. They had journeyed down the river and 
had located their new settlement at the present site of 
Providence, Rhode Island. Williams gave the name of 
“Providence” to this new settlement believing that God 
had guided him all along. 

He who would not force a man to accept his creed, 
would not force a man to give him his land. He who 
believed in the adequacy of the soul before God, had just 
as firm a belief in the right of possessions. If men could 
not be made Christians by creedal statements, or public 
banishments, neither could possession of land by public 
enactment, or by destruction of rightful owners, be right. 
Williams was unlike the men of his day and time in this 
matter. Not only was he ahead of his contemporaries 
one hundred years in religious convictions, but also in 
relation to men of a weaker race. He paid the Indian 
for the land, “ thus gaining,” says one writer, “ the lasting 
respect of the Indian, and the undying animosity of the 
Puritan.” Williams himself said: “I desired it might be 
for a shelter for persons distressed of conscience. I 
communicated my purchase unto my loving friends who 
desired to take shelter with me.” 

Thus in 1636 was started a community whose prin- 
ciples of government and laws of settlement were to be- 
come the foundation principles in the settling of the 
United States. The bitter anguish of persecution was 
over for the group in Providence. They had reached a 


[25 | 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





land where they made their own laws. They set up a 
new order of things on the principles of Him who said: 
“He that willeth to do my will” and “ Whosoever will 
may come.” There was to be no conformity for the sake 
of religion. Each person was to hold as inviolable the 
right of every person in his attitude toward God. Only 
as men responded to the wooings of love was religion to 
- gain an ascendency in their souls. The paradise of re- 
ligious liberty was founded in this country, but “not 
without the shedding of blood.” 

These Providence settlers soon built their own homes. 
Pilgrims in a strange land, they were bound together by 
a solemn compact, which is looked upon today as an 
epoch-making paper. Though drawn up and witnessed 
by so few men, today this compact has imperishable his- 
torical value and immeasurable worth. For it was firmly 
stated in the priceless paper that the compact held only 
in civil things. For the first time in history a paper was 
signed that left out religious control in a community. 
Roger Williams, the immortal founder of the colony, was 
the main personality back of this movement. To him, 
therefore, all America owes a debt of never-ending grati- 
tude. 

Soon after the settlement had been made and the colo- 
nists of Providence had erected. their crude homes, a new 
peril arose. The various Indian tribes were forming a 
league to destroy the English. No doubt they had been 
sufficiently aggrieved and humiliated to warrant this new 
attack. No doubt the Englishmen had sowed seeds which 
were now reaping a harvest. Williams, however, in his 
sincere love for mankind sought to prevent the bloodshed, 
and succeeded. Other men might have said “ Let them 


[ 26 | 


Roger Williams 


kill the men who sought my life.” That was not the 
teaching of Williams’ Bible. “I say unto you, love your 
enemies.’ He, therefore, immediately set out to hold 
counsel with the Indians. 

Picture the scene! Indians preparing for war. Braves 
and warriors holding secret intercourse. Indians passing 
back and forth among the Narragansett, the Mohegan, 
and Pequot tribes arousing them to action against the 
whites who had driven them off their land. Now there 
arrives in a canoe a white man—alone—a member of the 
race whom they have vowed to kill. No wonder Williams 
wrote afterward: 

Three days and nights I lodged and mixed with the bloody 
Pequot ambassadors, whose hands and arms reeked with the blood 
of my countrymen, murdered and massacred by them, and from 


whom I could not but look for their bloody knives at my throat 
also. 


Williams was their friend. He had proved it in times 
past. He had treated them always on a footing of 
equality. He preached to them; but adhering to his strict 
policy, he left it to them to make their religious decision. 
He held their confidence. His counsel prevailed, and the 
massacre of the New England colony was prevented by 
him whom they had driven out and forbidden to return. 


Baptized in 1639; Helped Organize First Baptist Church 
in America 


Soon after the quieting of this Indian uprising Williams 
was immersed. He was baptized in March, 1639, by 
Ezekiel Holliman who was also an exile from Salem. 
Then Williams baptized Holliman and ten others—the 
first known case of believers’ baptism in America. They 


[27 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





were now Baptists by profession as well as by inward 
belief. They organized the First Baptist Church of Provi- 
dence, which was the First Baptist church in America. 
Williams in his natural position of leadership became the 
pastor of the new church, the first Baptist pastor of the 
first Baptist church of America, organized on March 
16, 1639. 

Nothing had so stirred the Massachusetts Bay Colony 
as this new profession of Williams and his companions. 
Nothing was so hated by the leaders of this colony as 
‘“ Anabaptists.” The very name carried with it disgust 
and shame. The members of that sect were then looked 
upon in the same manner as we look upon the anarchists 
of today. The Puritans believed in religious freedom, but 
these Anabaptists, by carrying it to the farthest extreme, 
were unsafe as members of the church. Still deeper, and 
more severe, was the feeling of the church against these 
Anabaptists because of. their denial of infant baptism. 
They were attacking the very foundation of the Puritan 
church. Rev. Thomas Cobbet, who was minister of Lynn, 
wrote: “The principle of making infant baptisms a 
nullity, it doth make at once all our churches, and our 
religious civil state and polity, and all the members there- 
of to be unbaptized, and to be no Christians and so our 
churches to be no churches.” It cut to the quick to have 
the doctrine of infant baptism repudiated by the rebap- 
tizing of believers, and led to the immediate exclusion of 
all the repudiaters from the Puritan churches. 

Baptists have been the most persecuted of all the great 
branches of the church. Catholic and Protestant seemed 
to enjoy heaping their venom upon the membership of 
this church. Luther had written in 1530 to Menius: 


[ 28 | 


Roger Williams 





I am pleased that you intend to publish a book against the 
Anabaptists as soon as possible. Since they are not only blasphem- 
ous, but also seditious men, let the sword exercise its rights over 
them. 


Other sects and branches of the church fled from persecu- 
tions, but they immediately persecuted those who did not 
agree with them. Roger Williams said: 


The civil sword may make a nation of hypocrites and anti- 
Christians, but not one Christian. Forcing of conscience is a soul- 
rape. Persecution for conscience hath been the lancet which hath 
let the blood of nations. Man hath no power to make laws to bind 
conscience. 


Honorable Charles E. Hughes, in his speech at the lay- 
ing of the corner-stone of the National Baptist Memorial 
to Religious Liberty in Washington, D. C., on April 
Zora 22 said: | 


The Anabaptists were not asking to be tolerated; they were 
fighting for a cardinal principle of their faith. Persecution inten- 
sified their struggle. Their demand for the absolute freedom 
of religion from civil control was an essential part of their con- 
ception of religious truth, and was pressed with the ardor of the 
deepest religious feeling. They went to the root of the matter— 
the relation of the individual soul to its Maker. The kingdom 
of God was not of this world and was not within the keeping 
of any prince. This contribution is the glory of the Baptist 
heritage, more distinctive than any other characteristic of belief 
or practise. To this militant leadership all sects and faith are 
debtors. 


Made Two Trips to England to Secure Charters 


The Providence colony was growing, and it became 
necessary for Williams to go to England to secure a 
charter. He could not take a ship from any place in 


[ 29 | 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


the Massachusetts colony; so he had to go to New York 
to board a vessel for England. Those were stormy days 
in England. Civil war was tearing the country. Crom- 
well was in power. Williams, however, had no trouble 
in securing a charter for the colony on March 17, 1644. 
The colony was known as “ Providence Plantations ” and 
included all the land that is now in the territory of the 
State of Rhode Island. 

The return of Williams to Providence was like that of 
a victorious general. Six years before he had landed on 
this shore an outcast and an exile. Now he came to this 
town which he had founded and named, and was heartily 
greeted as counselor, leader, and guide. He had brought 
his people to the promised land of soul-liberty, and now 
he had secured for them their charter from England. 

In this trip and similar trips to England we see some- 
thing of the purpose of Williams. He did not believe in 
asking his followers to do any menial task, or to finance 
any undertaking. Without any reserve, and with no 
thought of any one but his fellow man, he made trips 
to England, and spent much time and effort in securing 
the necessary legal protection for the Providence Colony. 
He paid his own way on these trips, satisfied to know 
that he was building a community where soul-freedom 
was the basic and all-enduring foundation. His staunchest 
friend in these days was Dr. John Clarke, pastor at New- 
port. Williams and Clarke went to England together 
in 1651. It was during this visit that Williams came into 
intimate contact with John Milton and with Sir Henry 
Vane. 

Williams did considerable writing. His first published 
work was “ A Key into the Language of America,” pub- 


[ 30 ] 


Roger Williams 


lished in 1643 in London. Other famous documents 
written by him are “ The Bloody Tenent of Persecution 
for Cause of Conscience, Discussed,” ‘“‘ Mr. Cotton’s 
Letter Lately Printed, Examined and Answered.” Mr. 
Cotton had attempted to reply to the paper on “ The 
Bloody Tenent,’ so Williams replied with a paper, “ The 
Bloody Tenent Yet More Bloody.” Whenever the occa- 
sion demanded Williams had a ready and complete answer 
to thwart both his personal enemies and the folks that 
tried to overthrow his colony. 

He ever kept before the colony, and before all men 
with whom he mingled—whether the Parliament of En- 
gland, or the colonists—soul-freedom. He fought battles 
for the protection of the Jews and for freedom for the 
Quakers. In 1656 there had been an attempt to banish 
all Quakers from the Providence Colony. The Massa- 
chusetts Colony was banishing them and persecuting them 
in every conceivable way. Williams called attention to 
the foundation principle of the colony: “ Freedom of 
conscience is the ground of our charter, and it shall be 
maintained.’ He protected the Quakers whom, like him- 
self, the Massachusetts Colony would put to death. His 
colony became the haven of refuge to all manner of sects 
and denominations who were persecuted and driven out 
by the bigotry and intolerance of the Puritan Church. 

During all his own persecution and the many vexing 
matters of community government, he did not forget to 
minister to the Indians in every conceivable way. To 
them he had gone as the earliest missionary carrying 
the gospel of redeeming love. He had always respected 
their opinions, and had given consideration to their judg- 
ments. He never permitted anything that might happen 


[31 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





to embitter him toward these aborigines. In fact, in 
all of his contacts with society he ever believed and trusted 
in men. No matter how wrong might be their opinion of 
him, Williams was always willing to give them a right to 
their convictions. For this he enjoyed the confidence 
and protection of these various Indian tribes. 


Translated the Bible for the Indians 


He established a trading-post, which was near to the 
present village of Wickford. This store was under his 
supervision and proved to be profitable not only to the 
Indians but also to himself. In the afterglow of life, 
when the cares of the colony were not so vexing as they 
were at first, Williams came out to this trading-place every 
month to preach. He came not as a middleman of busi- 
ness but as a promoter of Christian religion, rejoicing 
in the opportunity to give to these men the bread of life. 
He loved the Indians as he loved all men, always glad 
to break the bread of life to needy souls. The Indian 
Bible that he wrote is today in the John Hay Library at 
Providence, Rhode Island. 

Williams, who was a century ahead of his times in 
kindly and loving treatment of the Indians, had several 
times sought to counsel with the forest people to stop, if 
possible, their periodic raids. They would strike terror 
among the colonists, take their booty, and depart again 
into the wilderness. Part of their venom was due to the 
way in which the white man had secured the land; part, to 
the generally accepted method of considering the Indians 
as worthy of no privileges. The liquor which the Indians 
obtained from the whites proved to be veritable fire-water. 
When the red men drank it they behaved as if crazed. 


[ 32 | 


Roger Williams 





Williams had warned the Indians not to continue their 
destructive visitations. He had told them of the strength 
of the whites, trying to put fear and awe in their souls 
as he pictured the guns, the ammunition, and the men that 
would be marshaled against them. Though they might 
seem to be successful now, he told them that ultimately 
the whites would annihilate them if they continued to sack 
and burn their villages. 

His Indian friend Massasoit died in 1660. Two sons 
survived him. Of these, Alexander died shortly after- 
ward, leaving Philip as king of the Narragansetts. He 
was very bitter against all the English. He held a council 
of his braves, and they determined to drive the white men 
out of their territory, waging a war of extermination in 
reprisal for the white man’s method of continually driving 
them off the land that was theirs. King Philip began 
his warfare in Plymouth. in 1675. A terrific struggle 
ensued. 

The red men, fired with memories of injuries and in- 
justice, pursued their bloody trail, laying towns and vil- 
lages low in blood and ashes. For the first time in its 
history the colony of Roger Williams felt the attacks of 
the Indians. Never before had the Indians disturbed 
these settlers of Rhode Island. So wrought up were they, 
so determined to exterminate the whites that irrespective 
of all things they continued their bloodshed in this colony. 
Everywhere colonists arose to put down the raid and to 
destroy the Indians. The war was on in earnest for over 
anyon te 

Finally, the storm came to Providence. Williams, now 
an old man, had seen its approach. He had hoped and 
prayed that it might be averted. He knew what the final 


[ 33 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


outcome would be. He realized how severe would be the 
retaliation of the whites when they really organized to 
punish the Indians for the burnings and murders. Here 
in Providence were his companions, pioneers in freedom. 
Here also were people who had sought the city of his 
founding as a place of refuge. They were really all his 
children who were seeking protection from him. Even 
his home had been converted into a fort to thwart any 
sudden attacks. The scene all around him was one of 
preparation, determination, and acute expectancy. Yonder 
on the heights were the Narragansetts. He knew them, 
loved them. They also were his children. To them also 
he owed a debt. To them also he had preached. What 
should, what could he do? 

His decision was instant. There was only one course 
to pursue. The folks of Providence had no war with the 
Indians. They were not seeking their lives. They were 
willing to hold intercourse with them. It was the Indians 
who were the aggressors against his beloved colony. He 
needed not to talk with the colonists, but with the In- 
dians. The colonists had only armed and come to him 
when warned of the approach of the Indians. They had 
not sought to persecute the Indians, and they had per- 
mitted him, yes, even seemed to rejoice that he was 
ministering to these red men. He must counsel with the 
Indians. 

Unarmed as before, he started up the heights where 
the Indians had gathered. This fearless man, unafraid 
of the decision of the church court, was also unafraid 
of these warriors. Had he not gone to them like this 
before? Did not his counsel prevail? Would it prevail 
now? How anxious must have been the watchers in the 


[ 34 ] 


Roger Williams 


community below as they watched their leader mount 
the heights to counsel with their enemies. What would 
be his fate? What would the result be? 

He was kindly received. The Indians listened in silence. 
He told them to cease their strife. He warned of the 
great strength of the whites in the colonies and in En- 
gland. He pleaded with them as their friend to stop the 
bloodshed. Their reply was short and polite. Huis coun- 
sel had no effect on them now. They said: “ Let them 
come, we are ready for them. But as for you, Brother 
Williams, you are a good man, you have been kind to us 
many years, not a hair of your head shall be touched.” 

He left them a defeated man. As the watchers saw 
him returning they surmised that his visit had been in 
vain. Bowed was his head, and sad his heart as he came 
down. In his mind’s eye he saw the blood that must be 
shed, and the homes that would be destroyed because he 
could not make peace. These were both his children. 
They were going to fight each other—the white men who 
had followed him as their leader to found a new colony, 
the red men who had looked to him as their friend. He 
must witness the battle. He loved them both. His was 
soul-anguish as he came back to his home after his visit. 

Providence was destroyed. Williams’ home, according 
to the Indians’ promise, was untouched. Like Rahab’s 
home of old the red cord of human friendship had 
preserved his and him. The Indians wreaked terrible 
vengeance everywhere else. Fierce and swift, however, 
was the white man’s revenge. Citizens of the whole colony 
organized. They captured and killed the leaders of the 
Indians, and slew many others. Warfare ceased. Imme- 
diately Providence started to rebuild. It had been about 


[ 35 | 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





thirty-five years since most of the first buildings were 
erected, so these new structures were built much larger 
and stronger. The people who had lived here had been 
in this new community long enough to feel its permanence, 
and they were now building with a view to establishing 
real homes. 


Died in Providence in 1683 


Williams was nearing the end of his days. The per- 
secuted, exiled refugee was about to die. For over fifty 
years his life had been full of storm and tumult; he had 
given himself unstintingly to write large on the hearts of 
men his great challenge of soul-liberty. He had been 
daring, yet fair; firm, yet kind; unswerving, yet humble. 
His life drew to a close. His best friends and closest 
neighbors little realized the contribution that Williams 
had made to civilization, and especially to the United 
States. Others had established colonies. Others had 
pleaded for religious tolerance. Others have contributed 
to the making of the great United States. To Roger 
Williams alone does the credit belong of founding a 
colony which gave full, absolute, and untrammeled re- 
ligious liberty. The Honorable O. S. Strauss said on 
January 13, 1919: 


If I were asked to select from all the great men who have left 
their impress upon this continent, whom to hold before the world 
to typify the American spirit of fairness, of freedom, of liberty 
in Church and State, I would without any hesitation select that 
great prophet who established the first political community on 
the basis of a free Church in a free State, the great and immortal 
Roger Williams. He was a Baptist, that church which is famous 
for never having stained its hands with the blood of persecutors. 


[ 36 ] 


Roger Williams 





The honorable C. E. Hughes said on April 22, 1922, 
when speaking at the laying of the corner-stone of the 
Roger Williams Memorial in Washington, D. C.: 


Even the truth cannot prosper without leadership, and liberty 
waited for the appearance of the prophet of the new thought. 
Able, well trained, aflame with zeal, came Roger Williams. An 
exile, banished by the theocratic religionists because of his treason- 
able demand for freedom of conscience, he was, as his enemy put 
it, “enlarged” out of Massachusetts... To him, who established 
the liberty of the soul in the New World; who, not with indiffer- 
ence to religious truth but with profound religious conviction, de- 
manded the emancipation of the spirit of man from the fetters of 
civil rule; who pointed the coming nation to the pathway of a 
free people, to Roger Williams—preacher, prophet, and _ states- 
man—we erect this memorial of the lasting obligation of men and 
women of all creeds and races. 


Throughout his entire life he had never stooped to com- 
promise. He had never belittled his convictions by per- 
mitting them to be unspoken. He had never held back 
from any course of action out of fear of friends, or from 
bodily danger. He was a man who held to the honesty 
of his convictions, absolutely sincere in his beliefs. The 
doctrines that he held dear motivated his entire conduct. 
Hypocrisy and dissimulation had no part in him. Yet 
with it all he never sought to offend; but rather to pro- 
mote the gospel of love and brotherliness. 

He fought intolerance during all his life in America. 
In whatever guise it appeared he was its arch-enemy. 
During the third year of his stay in the Massachusetts 
Colony the ministers of the colony began meeting at 
various times to discuss matters of the church. Today, 
such meetings are held by all denominations. Williams, 
however, was fearful that such gatherings would tend to 


[ 37 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


take on authority. This might lead to a form of superin- 
tendency, and overlordship, which was directly contrary 
to his conceptions of church liberty. He, therefore, would 
have nothing to do with such gatherings. 

Williams had many opportunities of securing riches. 
One writer says: 


William Penn, after having secured his colony by patent from 
the rulers of England and thus having exercised a control over its 
government, enriched himself and family. This Roger Williams 
might have done. But this was not his purpose, nor was it 
directly or remotely the cause for which he suffered banishment 
and misery. 


Finally, even the small amount he had saved, he gladly 
sacrificed in paying for his trips to England in the interest 
of his beloved colony, 

Roger Williams died in Providence, the city of his 
founding, in 1683. Of him it can well be said, “ He died 
full of years.”* The whole community turned out to 
honor his memory. His friends bore the worn body to 
its resting-place on his own property. Here the coffin 
was buried, and here it stayed for about two hundred 
years. In 1860 the grave was opened, and the dust was 
put in an urn and “ deposited,” writes Mr. R. A. Guild, 
“in Mr. Randall’s family tomb in the North Burial 
Ground.” The place where he was originally buried is 
today covered by a heavy stone pillar. 

He was gone; but how small was the ripple of his 
departure. Sadness to his friends; for he had been their 
guide to this city. Sorrow to the Indians; for he had 
been their friend and adviser. Joy to his enemies; for 
they had always looked upon him not only as a rank 


[ 38 ] 


Roger Williams 


heretic, but also as a disturber of the peace of the com- 
monwealth. 

Two hundred and fifty years have passed, and what 
is his record today? Men have always rejected the words 
of the seers, have stoned the prophets and slain the saviors. 
Afterward shrines have been raised to the memory of the 
heroes. What has time done to Roger Williams? Does 
he loom larger and larger as the years come and go, or 
is he sinking into greater and greater oblivion? 

Three hundred years ago the most important names in 
the Massachusetts Colony were those of Cotton, the vigor- 
ous leader of the churches, and Winthrop, the political 
power of that day. Men have almost forgotten these 
men, but never will they forget Williams. Taller and 
taller does he loom as the years go by and his contribution 
to civilization comes in clearer and ever clearer perspec- 
tive. 

Today, everything with which Roger Williams had to 
do is carefully marked and most reverently preserved. 
The church of which he was pastor in Salem is still intact. 
It is located in the rear of Plummer Hall—a small build- 
ing, twenty feet long, seventeen feet wide, and twelve feet 
high at the posts. In his book on “ Roger Williams,” 
A. B. Strickland says: 


Originally the church had a gallery over the door at the entrance 
and a minister’s seat in the opposite corner. On the wall opposite 
to the entrance is a list of its succession of pastors and the years 
of their service. It could accommodate about one hundred people. 
Here in this ancient meeting-house Roger Williams preached those 
truths which led to his banishment. 


The home in which he lived while in Salem is also kept. 
It is known as “ The Roger Williams Home,” or “ The 


[ 39 | 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


Witch House.” Williams mortgaged this house “‘ for 
supplies ’ to establish the colony at Providence.” 

Many other buildings, books, and articles are preserved 
that were touched by the living Williams. The present 
First Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island, is 
the true successor of the church founded and organized 
by Williams. It is a beautiful building, erected and dedi- 
cated in 1775. How different would it seem to the 
founder. During his entire life the church that he had 
founded. had no house of worship. It was not until 
seventeen years after his death that the first church build- 
ing was erected. In front of the present church is a 
bronze tablet stating that Roger Williams was the first 
pastor. It is also recorded in the church records that 
he was the first member of the church. 


Baptists the Most Persecuted Denomination in America 


Persecution of the Baptists did not cease with the death 
of Williams. Religious liberty and soul-freedom had not 
as yet been accepted by the other settlements and colonies 
“in America. It was not until 1833 that Massachusetts 
finally passed an amendment to its constitution that was 
ratified by the people, that Church and State shall be for- 
ever separate. Thus one hundred and fifty years elapsed 
after the death of Williams before the struggle for re- 
ligious freedom was settled in the United States. 


The Pioneer of Religious Freedom 


The principle of soul-liberty for which he stood must 
become a part of the law of the land before his battle was 
entirely won. In 1663 Williams wrote this fundamental 
tenet into the Charter of Rhode Island: 


[ 40 | 


Roger Williams 


: 

No person within the said colony, at any time hereafter, shall 
be in any wise molested, punished, disquieted, or called in ques- 
tion, for any differences of opinion, in matters of religion, who do 
not actually disturb the civil peace of our said colony; but that 
all and every person and persons may, freely and fully have and 
enjoy his own judgments and consciences, in matters of religious 
concernments; they behaving themselves peaceably and quietly and 
not using this liberty to licentiousness and profaneness, nor to the 
injury or outward disturbance of others. 





It was not until 1788, at the time of the adoption of the 
Constitution of the United States, that a provision was 
inserted to do away with religious tyranny. This Con- 
stitution provided in Article VI, “No religious Test 
shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or 
public Trust under the United States.” This was not 
satisfactory to Baptists who had been fighting for re- 
ligious freedom against religious intolerance for so many 
years. President George Washington said, “ No one 
would be more zealous than myself to establish effectual 
barriers against the horrors of spiritual tyranny and every 
species of religious persecution.’ Soon the effect of this 
statement was evident. Article VI of the Constitution 
was superseded by the First Amendment to the Consti- 
tution. It made the provision for which Baptists had 
been struggling : 


Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging 
freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people 
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress 
of grievances. 


The long, hard struggle was won at last. The principle, 
which Roger Williams had written into the Charter of 


eres 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





Rhode Island, had become the law of the United States. 
Now can be truthfully sung, 


My country, ’tis of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty. 


All this freedom has its genesis in the Anabaptist early 
struggle. Even that Roman Catholic historian Cornelius 
wrote: 


The only crime of which they [the Baptists] were accused as a 
body by their contemporaries, and which is substantiated by evi- 
dence, the crime for which they were inhumanly persecuted by 
Catholics and Protestants alike, and for which they went cheer- 
fully and in large numbers to death by drowning or the stake, 
was the crime of advocating soul-liberty. They claimed the right 
to interpret the Scriptures for themselves. They demanded free- 
dom of faith and worship for all men. 


To Roger Williams belongs the honor and the glory of 
having the courage of carrying his convictions to a suc- 
cessful conclusion in the establishment of a State where 
religious intolerance was unknown, and where all men 
are free. 

Baptists, give heed, for to this man is honor due. Dr. 
G. E. Horr in his book “ The Baptist Heritage ”’ says: 


History is rendering a tardy justice to the memory of Williams. 
A man who could win and hold the friendship of Sir Edmund 
Coke, John Winthrop, Sir Harry Vane, and John Milton, and 
enjoyed “close discourse” with Oliver Cromwell, is his own best 
champion, and a new appreciation of Williams’ personality and of 
his contribution to the cause of human liberty has come from the 
more careful study of his own works. 


Today all sects and denominations give him reverence. 
The banished exile of Massachusetts Colony has become 


[ 42 ] 


Roger Williams 





the honored saint of America. The persecuted teacher of 
the Salem Church is the founder of one of the largest Prot- 
estant denominations in the United States. The wilder- 
ness wanderer of the winter of 1636 has become an epoch- 
maker of history. The denounced, ridiculed, and maligned 
man of “ advanced views ” is looked upon as the promoter 
of religious democracy in all civilized lands. Roger Wil- 
liams said, “‘ The armies of Truth, like the armies of the 
Apocalypse, must have no sword, helmet, breastplate, 
shield, or horse, but what is spiritual and of a heavenly 
nature.” 


[43 ] 





iii 


WILLIAM CAREY 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER IIT 


. The founder Of modern missions. 
. Birth of Carey in Paulers Pury, England, on August 17, 1761. 


3. Three important dates in Carey’s early life: 


(1) Became a cobbler in 1777. 
(2) Baptized in October, 1783. 
(3) Ordained in 1787. 


. Missionary beginnings in England: 


(1) Carey’s sermon on May 31, 1792. 

(2) The Baptist Missionary Society organized in October 
(ACNE 

(3) Carey sailed from England on June 13, 1793. 


. Carey’s wife an invalid soon after reaching India, remaining 


so until her death in 1807. 


. Serampore beginnings: 


(1) The Serampore Mission begun in 1800. 
(2) Krishnu Pal baptized December 28, 1800. 
(3) Carey professor at Fort William College in 1801. 


. Carey’s work hampered and harassed by anti-missionary senti- 


ment and the interference of Parliament. 


. A great translator, a marvelous linguist, and a learned scholar. 
. A naturalist and botanist. 


10. 


The passing of Carey, June 9, 1834, in India. 


WILLIAM CAREY 


“Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the 
curtains of thy habitations; spare not: lengthen thy cords, and 
strengthen thy stakes.”—Isaiah 54 : 2. 


The Founder of Modern Missions 


William Carey was the founder of modern missions. 
He translated the Bible into more languages than any 
other man. He was one of the meekest men that ever 
lived. Jesus said, “ Blessed are the meek, for they shall 
inherit the earth.” The church is inheriting the open door 
of all earth’s people because of the meekness and sacrifice 
of Carey. He went out to India in his thirty-second year 
with practically all men agreeing with the statement of the 
old minister who said to him, ‘“ You are a miserable 
enthusiast.” 

Carey lived in a day of provincialism. His neighbors 
and his contemporaries knew little of the great world in 
which they lived, and cared less. He was a seer. He 
realized the truth of the Bible statement, “ God hath made 
of one blood all nations to dwell on the face of the earth.” 
He was a world citizen. He saw the world as “ the field.” 
Even in his youth his adventurous spirit had caused him 
to be called “ Columbus ” by his playmates. He enjoyed 
the study of maps, and his imagination carried him far 
and wide. His vision was world-wide; and his faith 
gradually took on proportions in keeping with his purpose. 

He loved everything that the heavenly Father had 
created. He was a great naturalist. Probably no one 


[ 47 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





thing gave him so much joy as to see things grow and to 
hear the birds sing in his wonderful gardens in India. 
From earliest boyhood he had made collections of bugs, 
of flowers, and all sorts of growing things. This love of 
God’s world was one of the forces that helped him through 
many an extremity, and proved a powerful antidote when 
storms without drove him to despair. Into his garden 
would Carey go, and there, hid from the view of man 
but surrounded by the beauties and miracles of God, he 
would regain composure of soul and the poise of life. 


Birth of Carey 


Carey was born on August 17, 1761, at Paulers Pury, 
Northamptonshire, England. His father, Edmund Carey, 
was poor; a weaver by trade; a kindly man and a lover of 
children. William was the oldest of five children. His 
grandmother made her home with them, and William 
was her special care until she died in his sixth year. He 
showed even thus early in his life his eager desire for 
knowledge. His mother would be awakened at night by 
hearing him reciting and adding accounts. 

In 1767 his father was chosen master of the village 
school. Here William was taught arithmetic and the 
catechism. He attended the village church where his 
father was the parish clerk. William studied the Prayer 
Book and the Psalms in the church, and was confirmed. 
The training of his early life was of a devotional nature. 
His grandmother was very religious. He was taught 
constantly from the Scriptures. With it all, therefore, 
there naturally developed in him a hatred for Dissenters. 

One of William’s most important teachers of this time 
was his Uncle Peter. How his heart must have burned 


[ 48 ] 





WILLIAM CAREY 


Missionary, Linguist, Translator, Botanist 





William Carey 


and his imagination flamed as he listened to the stories of 
the New World from this uncle. Peter Carey soon 
formed a special liking for the thoughtful lad. He told 
of his battles before Quebec in Canada. By the hour 
he thrilled the lad with tales of adventure and daring. 
The wanderlust of his life no doubt transferred itself to 
William as the great world was spread out before the 
boy’s mind. Uncle Peter was also his teacher at garden- 
ing. He was an expert gardener himself and delighted in 
training the boy. He gave young William his first lessons 
in botany and horticulture. He began keeping his father’s 
garden, and was very proud of his accomplishments. He 
had a right to be, for it was the best garden in the com- 
munity. How well this early training helped him is 
known by the fact that he created at his home in India 
a botanical park that had not its equal anywhere in the 
Eastern world at that time. 

Carey, with all his learning, could never be called a 
bookworm. He loved nothing better as a boy than to find 
some new insect or bug, and to add it to his collection. 
His room looked like a natural history museum. Yet he 
never took any pleasure in killing birds or animals for 
the sake of scientific investigation. He helped to beautify 
the schoolyard. His greatest fancy ran to rare flowers, 
ferns, and all sorts of botanical specimens. He was the 
recognized authority, and even while yet so young, if 
questions were asked regarding any flower, or bird, they 
would say, “Take it to Bill Carey, he’ll tell you all 
about it.” 

He loved his play. He would start off with his favorite 
sister Polly on these trips through the hedgerows and 
the meadows. Once on the way home his boy companions 


[ 49 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





shouted, ““ Come on, Carey, we’ve missed you.” William 
dashed over to his friends and joined them in their 
game of marbles. Then says Jeanne M. Serrell, in her 
“Tales of Great Missionaries ”’: 


They get tired of the old game; “ Columbus, if you won't play 
marbles any more, then preach us a sermon.” Up climbs Carey 
in the old elm, and using a comfortable branch as a pulpit, he 
holds forth with great oratorical skill, waving his arms, and 
using big words to the great admiration of all his little friends. 
But here comes a figure in black across the green. The rector! 
He looks up with a scolding look, and at sight of him all power 
of speech leaves the young preacher, down he tumbles from his 
perch, away the boys scatter, and William runs home. 


He loved books of travel, of history, science, and voy- 
ages. He did not care for fiction, plays, nor for books on 
religion. Few were the books available; but he scoured 
the whole countryside in his thirst for knowledge. He 
early showed that trait which marked him in after life. 
Whatever he started to do he finished. When he played 
he played hard, and played to win. When he worked he 
put his soul into it. He literally followed the injunction 
of “ putting his hand to the plow and continuing to plow 
to the end of the furrow.” 


Important Dates in Carey’s Early Life 


When William left school he took up the work of a 
laborer and began tilling the field. He continued at this 
work for two years, but an irritation of the hands and 
face so inflamed his skin that he could not sleep. His 
father had, therefore, to seek other employment for him. 
He apprenticed him to a shoemaker. William went to 
live at Piddington, a small village eight miles from home, 


[ 50 | 


William Carey 





at the house of Mr. Clarke Nichols, his master. He began 
his work as a cobbler at the age of sixteen and continued 
for twelve years. 

This new situation proved to be very trying. His em- 
ployer, though thought of as a good church man, was a 
man with a hot tongue and used to getting drunk. Under 
God, however, this move proved to be the salvation of 
William Carey. His fellow apprentice became his An- 
drew. It was through him that he was brought face to 
face with the living Christ. They argued long and heat- 
edly over theological questions, this Mr. C. Nichols and 
these two apprentices. Many a shoe was made in that 
shop while the mind of the maker was intent on showing 
another the error of his ways. It was two against one. 
Mr. C. Nichols and Carey were both members of the 
Established Church while John Warr, the other appren- 
tice, was a Dissenter. Carey hated these men and all men 
who opposed the Anglican Church. He says, “I had 
pride sufficient for a thousand times my knowledge.” 

John Warr was a true seeker after souls. He realized 
that Carey could worst him in an argument; so he ear- 
nestly prayed for his conversion and gave him books 
to read on the subject. His method proved effectual. 
Carey began to attend some of the prayer-meetings held 
by the Dissenters. He sought, however, to quiet this 
new struggling by a stricter observance of the rituals of 
his church. He says, “I determined to leave off lying, 
swearing, and other sins to which I was addicted, and 
sometimes when alone I tried to pray.” 

The day of reckoning came at last. The knocking of 
the pierced Hand was heard and answered. The troubled 
spirit found its desired haven, the seeking soul the seek- 


[51] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


ing Saviour. Carey gave his soul to Christ when he was 
seventeen years and a half old. He became a Christian 
with the full dedication of all his powers to the service of 
Jesus. . 

The world will never forget Carey, but to most folks 
the name of John Warr is unknown. The hidden links 
of the love chain of God are generally unknown. The 
service that is rendered by many a man is unheralded. 
How little did Warr realize that day that he began to 
pray for his fellow workman that on the answer to that 
prayer hung the destiny of India. Men are few who 
have the genius of a Carey. Men are many who have the 
willingness and the consecration to lead others to Christ. 
The world has but few men of the Carey mold. He 
looms up as a masterpiece of God’s own fashioning. 
The world has many men like Warr; only they have 
not used their talent to bring their fellow workmen to 
Christ. 

These were days of the Revolutionary war. Reverses 
were coming to the English army. The forces under 
George Washington were gaining victory. The king pro- 
claimed Sunday, February 10, 1779, a “day of national 
fasting and prayer.” Carey went with Warr to the small 
meeting-house of the Congregationalists. He had never 
attended on Sunday before. He heard Thomas Chater 
preach from the text, “ Let us go forth therefore unto 
him without the camp, bearing his reproach.” The mes- 
sage went straight to Carey’s heart. His was a scientific 
mind, so he now sought to arrange his beliefs in order. 
He was blessed in the experience of helping John Warr 
bring his master to Christ. Clarke Nichols died in Sep- 
tember, 1779, happy in his new faith. 


[ 52] 


William Carey 


Carey was under the necessity of seeking a new master. 
He went into the service of Thomas Old of Hackleton. 
His eager mind was intent on seeking the true light “that — 
lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” He 
talked with mystics and read every book he could secure 
that he might come into the full light of God. He went 
to various Dissenters’ churches on different Sundays seek- 
ing rest for his tired spirit. He wanted bedrock under 
his feet, so he began to hunt the message of the Scrip- 
tures. In his studies he was helped much by Thomas 
Scott, a young pastor near Olney. Many years later 
Carey wrote, “If there be anything of the work of God 
in my soul, I owe much of it to Mr. Scott’s preaching.” 
By 1783 the soul battle was on. His friend Rev. Thomas 
Skinner loaned him the book “ Help to Zion’s Travelers,” 
by Robert Hall. Carey said of this book, “I do not 
remember ever to have read any book with such raptures.” 
The book took the findings of his own Bible study and 
made them plain. 

Carey was always open-minded toward the truth, and 
especially Bible truth. He went to hear John Horsey 
preach a pedobaptist sermon. When he got home he 
restudied his Bible on the question of baptism. What did 
the Word of God say? He had reached that stage of life 
where he put no more confidence in the theory of men 
but in the Scriptures. He cared little any more for the 
verdict even of his elders. Truth must find its text and its 
proof in God’s book. This study brought conviction. At 
six o'clock, therefore, on the first Sunday morning of 
October, 1783, he was baptized in the river Mens by 
John Ryland. He was the only candidate, and he had 
walked five miles to be baptized. Ryland preached that 


[53 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


morning on the text, ‘‘ Many that are first shall be last, 
and the last first.” 

What a scene for a painter today! England aglow in 
the early October morning. Nature singing her praise 
with eager joy to her Creator. A twenty-two-year-old man 
going down the country lane. He is somewhat small of 
stature. His step is buoyant and elastic. Something is 
impelling him onward that sends waves of happiness over 
his face. "Tis but a journeyman cobbler; only the son 
of a poor parish clerk. So say, and think, all who see. 
Yet, here took place an obedience to divine command that 
has placed its imprint on history ever since. William 
Carey was now a member of the Baptist church, and 
the Pharisee of the eighteenth century had become the 
humble disciple of Jesus. The mind schooled in the 
theology of Calvin accepted the Baptist doctrine. 

He married Dorothy Plackett on June 10, 1781. She 
was a sister-in-law of his employer, Thomas Old. Two 
years afterward Old died, leaving to Carey most of the 
care of his widow and four children. During that year 
Carey and his first child Ann had been stricken with 
fever. Great was the sorrow of the young couple as 
they buried their firstborn. The sickness left Carey bald 
at the age of twenty-two. He now had charge of the 
business and the task of supplying the needs of this in- 
creased family. 

As early as 1779 he took part in the Hackleton Sunday 
Evening Conferences. He had a great interest in bring- 
ing to Christ the members of his family. He journeyed 
often to Paulers Pury and prayed in his father’s house. 
A building was set aside in this village in which Carey 
was asked to preach. This he did very acceptably to his 


[ 54 ] 


William Carey 


boyhood friends and neighbors. He preached here once 
a month. Huis mother was asked, “ What do you think 
heswills bey*aepreacherr \, Yes,” she replied; “and a 
great one, I think, if spared.” Carey bears testimony 
himself to the fact that the folks at Hackleton enjoyed 
his discourses. “ Being ignorant,” he says, “they some- 
times applauded to my great injury.” 

How was this young man able to preach having had 
so little schooling? Two reasons appear in his life his- 
tory. First, his eager mind was always intent on reading. 
He assimilated the books that came to his hand. The 
other reason was his love for the Bible. Every morning 
he kept the morning watch. He read the same passage 
from the Word of God in the Hebrew, the Greek, and 
the Latin. The various shades of meaning given to him 
through this custom came into most active use as he trans- 
lated the Bible. 

The cobbler’s workroom became the lighthouse from 
which this prophet looked out on a sinful world. The 
map of the world hung in his room, and his mind became 
filled with longing for the heathen. He read “ Captain 
Cook’s Voyages,’ and the deep need of the heathen was 
brought to his heart’s door. He felt the lure of the 
South Seas, and the vision of the church at work for 
the neglected islanders filled his soul. He was catching 
the gleam which gradually possessed and captured his 
life, and to which he responded with his all when the 
time of his call came. 

At present his task was to win those around him to his 
Saviour. To this he consecrated his talents and his 
prayers. He helped his sisters Ann and Mary find Christ. 
It was Mary, who became a paralytic at twenty-five and 


[95 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





was confined to her sick-room for the rest of her life— 
fifty years—that always held to God in prayer for her 
missionary brother. From her bedside went up a prayer 
that was faithful, constant, and trustful. Truthfully of 
her could it be said, “‘ When he has tried me I shall 
come forth as gold.” 

In 1785 Carey moved to Moulton as the Baptist pastor, 
and teacher in the school. He received fifteen pounds a 
year for this service; one-third came from a London 
Fund. He had, therefore, to hire himself to Thomas 
Gotch, a cobbler of Kettering. His ministry was blessed 
with that priceless harvest of a pastor, souls. In August, 
1787, his brethren met to ordain him to the ministry. In 
the group were men who became his lifelong companions ; 
Ryland, Sutcliff, and Fuller. Shortly after this he had 
the joy of his wife’s baptism. His heart overflowed with 
joy as he realized all that the Lord had done for him. 

He was ever sorry that he had no opportunity of 
furthering his schooling. Nevertheless he kept his hand 
to the plow and not only studied the classics, but also 
Italian, French, and Dutch. His linguistic ability becomes 
more and more marvelous as the genius of this man 
stands out in bolder perspective. 


Missionary Beginnings in England 


Carey began attending the ministers’ meeting of the 
Northampton Association. It was during one of these 
meetings that Ryland suggested that the younger men 
propose a topic for discussion. Carey was on his feet. 
The outer statement of inward conviction was to be made. 
Into this group was to drop a bombshell. “ Whether the 
command given to the apostles to teach all nations was not 


[ 56 | 


William Carey 





binding on all succeeding ministers to the end of the 
world, seeing that the accompanying promise was of 
equal extent.” It had burst; but the contradiction was 
immediate. ‘ Sit down, young man. When God wishes 
to convert the heathen he’ll do it without consulting you 
or me.’ Ah, Ryland, you are the one who ought to 
have sat down that day, for Jesus has said, “ Ye are the 
branches.” 

The struggle was on in earnest. He to whom no tree 
was too difficult to climb as a boy, was not discouraged 
by the silencing of his brethren. He sought recourse in 
the press. He would tell to the world his views. He 
would find kindred souls. God’s kingdom must progress. 
No statement of men, nor council of church must detain 
the onward sweep of the mighty army of God. He, there- 
fore, wrote his “ Enquiry.” It was a great statement, 
a paper that had a world appeal by a man of world vision, 
a paper that helped to change the course of the church. 
He had been still more stirred of late by the story of 
Eliot and Brainerd’s work for the Indians. His heart 
was aflame with purpose. “ No one had a right to the 
promise unless they obeyed the command.” Dr. R. Glover 
has written: 


It was the Age of Apologetics, when the church “ apologized ” 
for its existence, tried to persuade men that religion might be 
reasonable. Then Carey arose. He had seen the glory of Jesus 
Christ, had felt the world-love in the heart of God. He moved 
men to believe that the way to prevent defeat was to win victory. 


William Carey closed his pastorate at Moulton, and 
became pastor at Harvey Lane, Leicester. This he held 
until he went to India. With what sadness he used to 


[57] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





look across the way after his first year. He had buried 
his second child Lucy there. All during his ministry in 
England his audiences were large. Folks came to hear 
this man of God. His lips had been touched with God’s 
own anointing. His life was set on making the message 
of the Bible plain to all men. It was the earnest study of 
the Book that brought light to him, and he knew it would 
bring blessing to all. 

Carey was destined for other lands. He had been 
chosen of God for a particular task. His mind, his 
heart, and his soul were full of missionary zeal. He 
prayed publicly for the freedom of the black slaves, and 
for the Island of Tahiti. He was waiting, however, God’s 
time. The zero hour struck, and Carey was ready. The 
time was ten o’clock, May 31, 1792. The place was 
the Baptist Chapel at Nottingham. The occasion was the 
annual meeting of the ministers. Carey was the preacher. 
The text was Isaiah 54 : 2, 3, “ Lengthen thy cords, and 
strengthen thy stakes.” Two divisions of this deathless 
sermon he gave, two divisions that made history: “ Ex- 
pect great things from God. Attempt great things for 
God.” Stirred to the very fiber of their beings, aroused 
by the flaming missionary soul of the preacher, they 
were going to leave the meeting-house, moved but fearful. 
“Turning to Fuller, and gripping his arm, he cried, ‘ Is 
there nothing again going to be done, sir?’ ” thus wrote 
S. P. Carey in his book on “ William Carey.” He con- 
tinues : 


Fuller trembled an instant, and then his soul was stabbed awake. 
Often had he sympathized with Carey’s propaganda. Now he 
became a convert and comrade. When Fuller threw his inspired 
strength into the cause with Carey, things changed, men yielded. 


[ 58] 


William Carey 





Fuller now called for the reopening of business and a 
motion was passed, 


that a plan be prepared against the next Ministers’ Meeting at 
Kettering, for forming a Baptist Society for propagating the 
Gospel among the Heathens. 


The start had now been made. A plan had been 
formed. Four months must elapse until the called meet- 
ing, but Carey’s heart was full of happiness. The way 
was growing bright. The scene shifts now to a humble 
home in Kettering. The room is only twelve by ten. 
The men present were twelve pastors of small villages or 
town charges, and two laymen. They were fearful of this 
new project. Carey challenged them with the story of 
the daring and the faith of the Moravian Missions. The 
Baptist Missionary Society of England was born October 
2, 1792. Andrew Fuller was chosen as the first secretary, 
and Reynold Hogg as treasurer. Money was given and 
pledges were made to carry on the work. 

A new society with a new purpose; but whom shall 
they send and where shall they send them? John Thomas, 
a Christian physician, was just back from a five years’ 
residence in India. He wanted an assistant to go back 
with him. The new society met, and Carey talked with 
a real returned missionary for the first time in his life, 
and listened entranced to his story. On January 10, 1793, 
Thomas and Carey were appointed missionaries at Ket- 
tering “to the East Indies for preaching the gospel to 
the heathen.” Little did this small company realize that 
their work on that day would be studied, and that it would 
become the wonder of the church in after years. 

Vexing were the problems to be solved before these 


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men could start out on the journey that Carey’s father 
said was ‘‘ the folly of one mad.” Money must be raised 
for equipment, salary, and passage fare. The church 
must be aroused to its missionary opportunities and re- 
sponsibilities. Mrs. Carey must be reconciled to the jour- 
ney and go with her husband to India. William Carey 
started, therefore, on his tour of missionary inspiration. 
He was talking to a skeptical audience who looked upon 
him as a daring, but foolhardy enthusiast. Thomas also 
made addresses telling of his experiences in India. Lon- 
don Baptists said: “ The Mission will come to nothing. 
People may contribute for once in a fit of zeal, but how 
is it to be continually supported? ”’ Money began to come 
in, and the funds began to grow. The work was of God 
and was bound to prosper. 

How sacred was that compact formed by Fuller, Sut- 
cliff, Ryland, Pearce, and Carey, the immortal five. It 
was a solemn pledge that was kept by all. The covenant 
was this, “ They should never cease till death to stand by 
him.” In later life Fuller said of this agreement, ‘“ We 
had no one to guide; and whilst we were deliberating, 
Carey, as it were, said, ‘ Well, I will go down, if you will 
hold the rope.” To these men Kettering was Antioch; 
and Thomas and Carey were Paul and Barnabas. 

The time of departure finally came. They had tried 
to go in April, though without Mrs. Carey, but were 
detained. They had not secured their permits, without 
which their sailing was illegal. The hand of God was 
guiding them. For when the Danish vessel which was 
to bear them came to Dover, Carey went on board with 
all his family. Mrs. Carey had dreaded the journey 
because of her own physical condition and because of her 


[ 60 | 


William Carey 


husband’s physique. He who could not endure the sun of 
England, and who had suffered so with fever, could never 
live in the sun-baked plains of India, which were infested 
with tropical fever; so thought Mrs. Carey. Carey wrote 
on the day of sailing, June 13, 1793: 


This has been a day of gladness to my soul. I was returned, 
that I might take all my family with me, and enjoy all the bless- 
ings which I had surrendered to God. 


How different was their voyage from that of mis- 
sionaries or travelers of today! Five long weary months 
were spent on the Kron Princessa Maria. “ The captain,” 
however, said Carey, “was one of the most polite and 
accomplished gentlemen that ever bore the name of sea- 
captain.” He treated the missionaries with respect; and 
he sought in every way to make the journey pleasant. 
They landed in Calcutta on November 11. Carey writes, 
“My spirit is stirred within.’ They came the true 
pioneers to India, the land of many religions; yet a land 
without a Sabbath, without a God, and without a Bible. 
Carey planned in his coming to stay. He had cast his 
faith on God. He believed God was leading. He wrote 
a few years later, “ When I left England I never ex- 
pected to return.” So he began his work which he was 
to continue for forty years. 

Thomas and Carey were to blaze a new trail. They 
were to set new precedents, to enter virgin fields, to go 
over untried paths. They were to attempt to overthrow 
the formidable barriers of tradition, caste, race, language, 
and sickness. On them rested the whole future of Chris- 
tian missions. They were confident and enthusiastic. 
After a short time they settled in Bandel, and began to 


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itinerate. Everywhere they went they drew crowds after 
them. India, restless India, seeking after God, listened 
like the Athenians of old to these new prophets. 


Carey's Wife an Invalid 


These men sought constantly during the first few months 
a desirable place for a mission station. They began to feel 
the stress of their new endeavor. Money was exhausted, 
and no more was due for ten months; twelve per cent. 
was the rate of interest. Sickness had overtaken them. 
Mrs. Carey had dysentery, the children were sick. Felix, 
the oldest boy, was despaired of. Carey wrote: “I am 
very much dejected, full of perplexity at temporal things ; 
my mind hurts much.” No wonder that Mrs. Carey’s 
mind gave way under this strain. Melancholy over the 
condition of things, which she had rather expected before 
leaving England, settled upon her. The price paid by 
these silent, unheralded companions, these missionary 
wives, will never be known until the day the rewards are 
given out by Him who has promised them. Thirteen years 
more she lived in this condition cared for by her husband 
with tender ministrations. 

They settled for a while at Debhatta where they had 
been offered a bungalow. This they found occupied; but 
they were taken in by Mr. Charles Short, a bachelor En- 
glishman who was working in these parts. Carey had 
gone to this place hoping to be able to support his family 
there by selling the timber off some land that had been 
given him, and growing his own food. He found the 
people very approachable and ready to listen. An oppor- 
tunity fraught with much importance opened itself to him 
soon. Thomas urged him to come to Malda and join him 


[ 62 | 


William Carey 





there. Thomas had secured the charge of the indigo 
work at Mahipaldighi, and for Carey that at Mudnabati. 
Carey instantly accepted. One of his family must be left 
behind. His wife’s sister, Kitty Plackett, was loved by 
Mr. Short. It seemed a most natural thing. He had 
won the love of all by his liberal kindness and hospitality. 

William Carey and his family journeyed three hundred 
miles on the river to their new home. ‘They settled at 
Mudnabati on June 15, 1794. This proved to be their 
home for almost six years. He wrote the society: 

I now inform the Society that I can subsist without any further 
monetary assistance from them. At the same time it will be my 
glory and joy to stand in the same near relation to the Society, as 


if I needed supplies from them; and to maintain with them the 
same correspondence. 


He was to receive two hundred rupees a month. He had 
a cottage, their first Indian home. A few acres were at 
his disposal which he early decided would make a wonder- 
ful garden. His task was to superintend these new works 
of the indigo planter and manufacturer at Mudnabati. 
He had ninety natives under his charge. Though he 
was employed by Mr. Udny to see that these men did 
their work, his first and immediate concern was for their 
souls. 

Into this new home that seemed so different and promis- 
ing a shadow was cast. His second boy, Peter, died of 
dysentery. What could they do? Where could they 
turn? The natives would not make a coffin for one out- 
side their caste. The anguish of the father and the sor- 
row of the mother were increased by this experience. 
Hard enough to see their dear one die. How bitter the 
sorrow though, when not only was there none to share 


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the affliction, but also these natives added to their heart- 
ache by refusing the last rites for their dead. Finally, 
they decided to carry the body swathed to the grave, 
which they had persuaded four men to dig. At the last 
minute an outcaste carried the body of their boy. An- 
other sacrifice on the altar of service to Jehovah! An- 
other tie binding Carey to India. 

Now another source of pain came to him. The folks at 
home, understanding but little of all that the missionaries 
had been called on to undergo, began to find fault. They 
were especially displeased with Thomas and Carey because 
they had become business men, and were not devoting all 
their time to the missionary cause. This touched Carey in 
a very tender spot. He had always believed that mission- 
aries should be self-supporting. If Paul could support 
himself by tent-making, what prevented him from earn- 
ing his own livelihood? If it had not been for this oppor- 
tunity of superintending this indigo work these mission- 
aries must have perished. Carey wrote: ‘ Whether the 
spirit of the missionary is swallowed up in the pursuits of 
a merchant is not for me to say. Our labors will speak 
for us.” 

They were working for a Christian man. George Udny 
wanted them to do missionary work. Carey had plenty 
of opportunity, of which he gladly availed himself, of 
going to two hundred villages with the immortal gospel 
of Jesus. His first baptism was that of Samuel Powell, 
a cousin of Thomas, who was working there. They 
formed a church, these brave few, and observed the 
Lord’s Supper. Soon another was added to their list, 
one Ignatius Fernandez. He was a Portuguese and was 
baptized in 1796 and proved to be a very helpful worker 


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William Carey 





in the mission. He erected a preaching house on his own 
property. In after years he became a missionary himself. 
The leaven was beginning to work. Still no Indian had 
been baptized, nor had any publicly accepted Christ. 

Carey was busy also with Bible translation. He was 
studying Sanskrit, which, he wrote, “is the hardest lan- 
guage in the world.” He had also taken up the study of 
Hindustani and Bengali. With all this work a new 
problem faced him. How could he secure the publishing 
of the Bible after its translation? How could he raise 
enough money for its distribution? He was an ardent 
lover of the Word of God. He believed in it. He be- 
lieved that the sooner the people of India could be given 
the Bible in their various languages the quicker could 
India be brought to Christ. 

‘““God’s ways are not our ways.” <A press was bought 
by Mr. G. Udny and presented to the Mission. Carey 
and Fontain, a missionary who had been sent out to help 
him, immediately started to work on it. He had finished 
his first translation of the whole Bible in 1798, with the 
exception of the books from Joshua to Job. The way was 
clearing for the promulgation of the gospel in the Indian 
tongue. 

In the spring of 1799 he saw an evil that fired his soul. 
He determined to fight it; and he began his struggle at 
once against it. He never ceased to exercise every pos- 
sible influence in blotting it out of the national life. It 
was the suttee, that is, “ widow-burning.” The husband 
was dead, and on top of his funeral pyre was his widow. 
They were going to burn the dead man and the live woman 
together. The crowd stood around to watch. Anger 
and indignation moved this man of God. He threatened, 


[ 65 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 
he pleaded, but it was all to no avail. Not even the 
widow seemed to like his interference, and the rite went 
on. The widow danced on the pile. She threw sweet- 
meats to the crowd, who ate them as a holy thing. Then 
she lay down with her arm around the head of the corpse. 
Bamboos were so fixed that she could not have stirred, for 
she was held as in a vise. When the fire was lighted 
and started to blaze the people began shouting. If she 
had groaned, or cried aloud, Carey could not have heard. 
It was all according to custom and precedent. It was the 
way of India. He had seen it, however, he to whom no 
obstacle was too large to overcome. Fighting custom 
and caste Carey waged his warfare year after year until 
in 1829 he won. The practise was declared by law to be 
both “illegal and criminal.” 


Serampore Beginnings 


Another great change came to the mission in 1800, a 
change of more importance than any other that had been 
made up to that time. The missionaries moved to Seram- 
pore, which was under the Danish flag. Mr. G. Udny’s 
business had not proved profitable, so he retired to En- 
gland. The missionaries were wondering where they 
would locate, and what they would do under the new con- 
ditions. They had received news that four new mission- 
ary families, the Marshmans, Brundsons, Grants, and 
Wards had already come to Serampore. They had been 
refused a landing by the British authorities. . Carey had, 
however, already located at Khidurpur, and he was faced 
with the new problem. He was a God-led man. He took 
it all to him who had brought him to India. The way was 
clear. The decision was of God. The new station under 


[ 66 | 


William Carey 





the Danish flag became Carey’s home, and there he lived 
until his death thirty-four years later. 

The mission was now ready for a big advance. Reen- 
forcements had arrived. Serampore was a fine town 
from which to start in their mission to reach all of India. 
It was only two hours distant from Calcutta; yet under 
the Danish flag where they had full protection. The dis- 
trict was mostly Hindu and Brahmin. They were on the 
Hooghly River at a strategic center. One writer says, 
“The Jews might as well forget Jerusalem as the Bap- 
tists Serampore.” 

The missionary group now consisted of ten adults and 
nine children. There was formed a tie here that was 
only severed by death. The natural leader was the short, 
intrepid cobbler. The secret of their success, however, 
was in sharing burdens and bearing responsibilities, and 
“in lowliness of mind each esteeming other better than 
himself.”’ Carey would not permit any one to think 
that he was desiring preeminence. He was too humble a 
man for that. He established a true democracy. ‘“ One 
is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren.” 
>. 2, Carey writes, 

The Settlement’s salvation lay in the mutual forbiddance of 
trading and of labor for personal gain, in the pooling of all 
earnings, the apportionment of frugal pay to each family accord- 


ing to its needs, and the consecration of the whole surplus to the 
Mission’s expansion. 


They had bought a house which was used continually for 
seventy-five years as the main home of the Mission. 
Seven long weary years had passed, and still not one 
convert greeted Carey from India’s millions. Seven years 
of hardship! Seven years with the burial of one boy, 


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Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


and the mental disease of his wife to endure! Seven 
years of preaching, teaching, translating, and living, and 
yet not one star of India’s myriads for his crown. 

One day word came to the Mission asking for the 
doctor-padre. Thomas, Marshman, and Carey answered 
the call. The man told them how he had slipped and 
put out his shoulder, and how having known of the work 
of the mission doctor he had sent for him. As the doctor 
set his shoulder the patient’s little daughter was watch- 
ing. How strange were these men! How odd for a doc- 
tor not to perform a rite before ministering to his patient. 
She would have to investigate. When they returned in 
the afternoon these white-faced men sang and talked. 
She had never seen her father have such company before. 
Then, as his arm still pained, her father went to the Mis- 
sion on the following day, and the next, and the next. 
When he returned home he told strange things and read 
from strange pamphlets. Other white men came to the 
home, and mother and auntie became interested. They 
talked of a God whom they could not see, and yet they 
worshiped. She liked the story, however, for these men 
always told how much this God loved the Indian people, 
and she was sure that their Indian gods did not love them. 
Then, oh happy day, father said he was going to follow 
the white man’s God. 

Another day dawns, and this is a real natal day for 
India. The angels are watching from above. The crowds 
are gathered on the Hooghly River here below. The 
Lamb has caused a new name to be written in his Book 
of Life. It was December 28, 1800. Carey was standing 
in the river. On his right hand is Felix, his own son. 
The folks on the shore had just sung “ Jesus, and Shall 


[ 68 | 


William Carey 


It Ever Be.” Felix was buried with Christ in baptism. 
Then came the Hindu carpenter, Krishna Pal, into the 
water. He had been mocked and threatened. The gov- 
ernor had had to protect him and his family from their 
murderers. They had shouted “ Krishna and his family 
the devil’s own.” He was baptized, the first native of 
North India to be immersed. He at the age of thirty-five 
obeyed his Saviour, esteeming the praise of God more 
than men’s. The governor, standing on the bank, burst 
into tears. All present, witnessing India’s first baptism, 
were solemnized. It was an hour of holy joy. “ He was 
seeing the travail of his soul, and was satisfied.” 

It was in the afternoon of the same day that they ob- 
served the Lord’s Supper in Bengali for the first time. 
Their cup of joy was running over. Their labor had not 
been in vain. “ Be not weary in well doing” had seemed 
a hard promise to believe. Now the rest rang in their 
souls, “in due season we shall reap if we faint not.” If 
one could be won, then hundreds, thousands, and millions 
could be won. 

“God had sounded forth his trumpet that shall never 
call retreat.” Others soon came. Jaymani was the first 
Bengali woman openly to confess Jesus. Her sister fol- 
lowed. The missionaries were living on the mountain of 
joy which seemed almost complete when on March 5, 
1801, there was laid on the communion table a bound copy 
of the Bengali New Testament. These men fully real- 
ized also that the same problems that vex any new church 
in a strange land would be theirs. They must not only 
win to Christ, but they must also “teach them to observe 
all things whatsoever he had commanded.” 

Lord Wellesley had just founded the Fort William Col- 


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lege in Calcutta and was seeking a professor of Bengal. 
The position was offered to William Carey in 1801, and 
after conference with his colleagues he accepted. He 
received at first five hundred rupees a month, which was 
put into the common treasury as before. He went up to 
Calcutta on the Hooghly on Tuesday and came back on 
Friday evening. The students were the very finest young 
men of three Presidencies, and some of the sons of the 
aristocracy of England. Carey was soon teaching San- 
skrit, and Marathi also. He was again blazing a new trail. 
He had to edit his own grammars. He wrote six gram- 
mars: Bengali, Sanskrit, Marathi, Panjabi, Telugu, and 
Kanarese. He compiled three dictionaries. He wrote 
treatises in various languages. He preached in Calcutta 
also, having opened a house of worship there in 1803. 

What an opportunity for this man of God. In daily 
contact with men who were destined to be leaders of India. 
The most priceless possession of men is Christian char- 
acter, and his living could make an impact on these young 
men that nothing would erase. He came more and more 
to the realization that the mastery of Sanskrit and the 
translating of the Bible into it would be a tremendous step 
toward translating the Bible into India’s many tongues. 
Sanskrit was the common root of all. 

Carey and his colleagues were not content to stay in 
Serampore and Calcutta. They had a supreme desire to 
win all India for Christ. With statesmanlike methods 
they mapped out their campaign in seeking the strategic 
cities in the Empire as centers from which to radiate. 
The funds at Serampore were to be paid out in the estab- 
lishing of these new bases; after which each base was to 
become self-supporting by the missionary in charge work- 


[ 70 ] 


William Carey 





ing at a trade. Felix, the eldest son of Carey, was one 
of the men sent out to do this pioneering work in Burma. 
They planned under the persuasion of a great soul-passion 
for dying India. They wrote to the English Baptists to 
send them “forty new missionaries to enter the vast 
lands.” They thought that this demand was not too great 
for “the four hundred churches.” They purposed not 
according to human means, but according to human needs 
and divine power. 


Opposition 


The man of fiery missionary purpose struck the cold 
steel of Great Britain’s opposition. England had for- 
bidden missionaries to land on her Indian territory, and 
now the English Government in India issued other edicts. 
They said, “ The Government does not interfere with the 
prejudices of the people, and neither shall Mr. Carey and 
his colleagues so interfere.’ Carey, himself, was sum- 
moned in the governor’s name, and instructed “the Mis- 
sion is to preach no more to the native people, nor dis- 
tribute pamphlets, nor send out native preachers.” Thus 
did human government think it could thwart the purposes 
of God. The ire of the English Government in India, 
their determination to blot out the influence of these 
Christian missionaries, and the indifference of the Indian 
people to the gospel seemed almost insurmountable. 
Carey wrote home, “ We are all of us prisoners at Seram- 
pore.’ Denmark’s flag proved to be very protective in 
those days. 

The storm of opposition was wide-spread, and con- 
tinued over many years. England seemed to be deter- 
mined to blot out the work of the Christian mission. 


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Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





Carey wrote of this: “ Since the days of heathen Rome, 
no Christian government has, so far as I know, pro- 
hibited attempts to spread Christianity amongst the 
heathen. We are all in mourning.” In the English 
Parliament were heard wild attacks. One man said, “ If 
India is worth preserving, we should try to regain its 
confidence by the recall of every missionary.” Even 
preachers of England talked of the work at Serampore 
as “a nest of consecrated cobblers.” How terrible the 
years of suffering were for Carey and his fellow-mission- 
aries no one can ever know. Forbidden to preach by the 
country that had given them birth, attacked by men who 
were of their own race! How bright must have been the 
day when they heard of Fuller’s unfailing struggle and 
the writing of Southey in the Quarterly, when he said: 


The wonder is not that they have done so little, but so much. 
These low-born and low-bred mechanics have translated the whole 
Bible into Bengali. In fourteen years these missionaries have 
done more toward spreading the knowledge of the Scriptures 
among the heathen than has been accomplished, or even attempted, 
by all the world’s princes and potentates, and all its universities 
and establishments into the bargain. 


The anti-mission struggle continued. When the first 
American missionaries arrived in 1812 they were for- 
bidden a landing-place in any English possession. The 
adversaries were determined to rout even the Serampore 
missionaries but were unsuccessful. Carey wrote, “I 
mourn on my country’s account, that preaching the gospel 
should be regarded in the same light as a felony.” No 
new recruits came out during these weary years. At 
first, the missionaries had thought the storm would soon 
blow over. The Christian conscience of a nation, how- 


[72 ] 


William Carey 


ever, is not easily aroused. When it is, then evil men seek 
darkness. It was the mighty Wilberforce who finally 
made the speech that won the day in 1813. How different 
might have been the progress not only of William Carey’s 
work, but also that of Adoniram Judson, if the English 
Government had aided instead of hindered, God alone 
knows. 

During this time there had been many changes in the 
family circle. Mrs. Carey died on December 7, 1807. 
She had continually grown worse during the last five 
years. In all the time of her failing mind Carey had been 
a thoughtful, prayerful, and kindly husband. Her release 
came as a blessing to all who had watched her sufferings 
with prayers. Physical suffering and mental agony were 
over for her from whom the price of being a missionary’s 
wife had demanded such a large toll. 

The year of the settlement of the mission in Serampore 
marked the year of the coming of Lady Rumohr. She 
had suffered an injury to her back when a girl of fifteen 
and was seeking relief in Italy and now India, away from 
her Denmark home. Reared in the formalism of the 
Danish Lutheran Church, she was attracted by the sin- 
cerity of these English missionaries. A year after the 
baptism of Krishna Pal she was baptized, the first Euro- 
pean lady to be immersed in India. Her interest in the 
mission continued to grow, and she became a large con- 
tributor to its funds. 

In the summer of 1808 she and William Carey were 
married. She proved to be a wonderful helpmeet for 
him. Cultured in all the languages of Europe, she was 
helpful by her intimate knowledge of Italian, Danish, and 
French. She was fragile, and often would have to spend 


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months in bed. She was, however, endowed with a sunny 
disposition, and was always cheerful. She sought to help 
the Indian girls; but her especial task was that of her hus- 
band’s counselor. Their years together were sweetened 
and hallowed by the sincerity of their love. For thirteen 
years, until her death, they dwelt together in the under- 
standing and strength of each other’s love. It’s a picture 
worthy of a great master to paint the frail little Danish 
lady, with eyes full of tenderness, and the “ English cob- 
bler ” in their missionary home. 

An event of tremendous significance occurred March 
11, 1812. A disaster of such proportions befell the Mis- 
sion that all their faith was needed. The day’s work was 
over, and the workmen in the press-rooms had gone 
home. Ward, the missionary printer, was in his office. 
Suddenly he came running out shouting for help. Rush- 
ing out from their homes the folks came, natives, mis- 
sionaries, children, and workmen, all appalled at the disas- 
ter they were facing. The plant was in flames. Smoke 
was rolling out in great clouds. They carried water and 
poured it on the fire. It was soon discovered that the 
printing-plant was doomed; so all their efforts were bent 
on saving the Mission house and the other surrounding 
buildings. As they stood around in the flare of the flames 
that were leaping up two hundred feet, their heads bowed 
with sorrow and grief. Midnight, and there was no sleep, 
for the fire continued its destruction; and they were help- 
less. As the next morning dawned, however, they thanked 
God for his providential care that not one life was lost. 
No edict of men, no weapons of men, no earthquake, and 
no fire could restrain these men sent of God to preach the 
gospel to India. 


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‘Man proposes, and God disposes.” All seemed like 
defeat and disaster. Carey was the greatest sufferer, as 
many of his manuscripts of translation had been lost. 
Great Britain heard the news of the conflagration and 
responded more nobly than she had ever given before. In 
two months so much had been subscribed and paid that 
it was necessary for the Society to publish a notice that 
the need had been met. What words had failed to do, 
what constant appeals had never accomplished, had been 
brought to pass by this great fire. In fact, Andrew Fuller, 
the immortal home secretary, wrote to Carey, “ This fire 
has given your undertaking a celebrity which nothing else 
could.” This giving of over ten thousand pounds is still 
more phenomenal when it is remembered that Napoleon 
was challenging England; and England was warring 
against America at this time. 

Home cares and the responsibility of the Mission were 
demanding heavy toll of Carey. First, and most severe 
for him and for the other two of the immortal three, 
was the death of Andrew Fuller. He who had been 
their anchor-rock, he who had held the rope so securely, 
was called to the better land. This was the beginning 
of a break between the Serampore leaders and the 
churches at home. Suspicion began to creep into the 
Home Administration. These men were making large 
private fortunes. Carey was receiving seven thousand 
five hundred dollars a year as a professor, but was ad- 
hering, with all the rest to the first agreement, and had 
only two hundred dollars for his own and his family’s 
expenses. He wrote, “I am destitute of a rupee.” Then 
came the news that his son Felix had become an ambas- 
sador of Burma’s emperor to the British Government. 


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Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


Carey wrote, “ Felix is shriveled from a missionary to an 
ambassador.” 


Translator, Linguist, Scholar 


William Carey was tireless. Early and late he kept 
unceasingly at his task of translation. No matter how 
busy were his days of teaching, no matter how many 
were the sermons and addresses he was called on to de- 
liver, he always found time to do some work with his 
pundits. Just to name over the various tongues and 
dialects into which Carey translated all or part of the 
Bible is to be awed at the linguistic ability of this scholar. 

Seven translations of the whole Bible, and twenty-one 
of the New Testament are his record. Add to that the 
Bengali Bible; he prepared five versions of the Old and 
eight of the New Testament of this Bengali Bible alone 
in his forty years of translation. Referring to these trans- 
lations he said, “ Having once thoroughly mastered Ben- 
gali, Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, Persian, Panjabi, and 
Dravidian Telugu, all else was simple.” To Carey belongs 
the tribute and the praise of the blazer of this new trail, 
the man who dared to go ahead putting the Bible into the 
vernacular of India’s millions. ‘“ He labored, and we 
have entered into his labors.” 

Even that is not the end of his intellectual achievements. 
His position as a professor in Fort William College was a 
constant urge to him to launch out in the task of editing 
grammars, and other books necessary for his classroom. 
He was never daunted by the fear of an untried path or 
of an opposed way. First seeking counsel of his heavenly 
Father, he went bravely ahead. The great production of 
his life in the line of dictionaries and grammars was “A 


[ 76 ] 


William Carey 


Universal Dictionary of the Oriental Languages, derived 
from the Sanskrit, of which that was the groundwork.” 


A Missionary Naturalist 


How this ability? Whence this power? Was this a 
super-mind of a super-man?’ - He even translated some 
of Shakespeare’s works for some of his classes. How 
could it be done? The power of the living God in the 
consecrated soul of his faithful servant is surely the most 
certain answer. A man who was willing and ever ready 
to do his Master’s will! This ability to stay in India, and 
never return to England; and never to go on furlough, 
how? His care, his interest, and his love for every botan- 
ical specimen of this earth. The hobby of his garden 
proved to be the safety-valve for William Carey. 

Carey loved his Father’s world. No plant was too 
small and no bird was too drab to succeed in calling forth 
his interest and his comment. His garden of five acres 
at Serampore became one of the wonders of the world. 
It was planted in accord with his own purpose, walled in 
to keep out the roving cattle of India, lined with trees 
rare to that land. He took special pains in teaching a 
group of natives the care of the garden. Here he came 
early in the day, and again at twilight. As he neared the 
end he frequented the garden more and more for hours 
of repose and solitude. He was ever writing to his 
friends asking for seeds and rare plant specimens. When 
his boys went out to different lands as missionaries he 
had them send him samples of all the plant life of that 
country. From far and near he made his collections and 
carefully cultivated and trained them, brooding over them 
as a mother broods over her young. As he grew older 


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he recognized the physical value of his garden, for he 
wrote, “ My garden is a source of pleasure and of health 
to me.” Later his son Jonathan wrote: 


No one was allowed to interfere in the arrangements of his 
favorite retreat; and it was here he enjoyed his most pleasant 
moments of secret meditation and devotion. It formed the best 
and rarest botanical collection of plants in the East. In order 
to prevent irregularity in his gardeners’ attendance, he was par- 
ticular in paying their wages with his own hands. When he was 
confined to the house, he would send for them to come into the 
room where he lay, and converse with them about plants. 


One of the biggest issues before the missionaries at 
Serampore was that of the training of the Christian 
natives to become Christian workers. Carey had always 
believed that which all Foreign Boards now realize, “ The 
weight of the great work must ultimately rest on native 
evangelists.” To that end they proposed to build there a 
great Christian college. Marshman, Ward, and Carey, 
the three immortals, realized that the founding and estab- 
lishing of this college must become their immediate con- 
cern. Their vision was that of seers. They built, not 
with just the idea of sending forth students of theology, 
but rather to make a college to train in the arts and the 
sciences. They desired above all else to lift the thinking 
of India out of its fatalism to the truth and to hopefulness. 
They, therefore, opened their college to all on the plat- 
form of equal opportunity, daring to challenge the un- 
christianized young men of India with an opportunity 
of higher education under Christian influences. So 
pleased was Denmark’s king that he gave to each one of 
the three a gold medal. Money for the school came from 
England, America, and many high English officials in 


[ 78 | 


William Carey 





India. Finally, some of the classes were started in 1819. 
It was not until 1827 that the college charter was obtained. 
Of this charter, S. P. Carey writes, “a charter as com- 
plete as that of Kiel and Copenhagen Universities, with 
like authority to grant degrees in all faculties, making it 
the first such college in India, and still India’s only one 
with power to confer Divinity degrees.” Coupled with all 
this educational advance was the starting of a weekly 
newspaper edited by Marshman. 

All this by a man who was now sixty. And this new 
venture against the wishes of many by a man who was 
beginning to break. Carey never hesitated when he saw 
the light, however, and saw the need beckoning him on. 
He never stopped to count the cost, nor to test his own 
powers. He went boldly ahead in the strength of his 
Lord. 

Honors were heaped upon Carey, yet he always re- 
mained humble. Brown University gave him a D. D. 
London Scientific Societies elected him a member. This 
didn’t thwart the purposes of Carey, nor turn him from 
his chosen task. Sorrow broke over his soul. This 
seemed to mellow him, and make him more humble and 
trustful. His frail second wife died in 1821. She had 
been a constant source of comfort and cheer for his 
soul. She had been a source of never-fading trust in 
God. She had proved a good mother to his motherless 
boys. Their grief at her departure was very great. She 
was also a great blessing to the Mission family and the 
native women. The blessing of the purity of her life 
was an incentive and an encouragement. Following close 
on her death was that of his son Felix at the age of 
thirty-seven. He had come back into the mission fold 


[ 79 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


as a helper. The next year, in 1823, Ward died, the first 
one of the Serampore trio to go. This breaking of that 
group of three who twenty-three years previous had 
begun this work seemed irreparable. He was eight years 
younger than Carey, but he was gone. 

Often was the garden retreat used in these days. As 
one by one he laid away the dear ones, the ties of the 
heavenly land grew stronger. He could say with Paul of 
old: “I am in a strait betwixt two, whether to depart 
and be with Christ, for it is far better; yet to abide in 
the flesh is more needful for your sakes.” All was not 
sorrow. Grandchildren were on his knees. The prattle 
of their voices and the sweetness of their smiles lured him 
into frolic and many a romp with them. 

With the lengthening of the shadows came the straining 
of the ties. The light of the evening hour of his life was 
darkened with the severest storms. The thunder began 
to roll and the lightning to crash in 1830. Flash after 
flash bespangled the heavens of the Mission. Bolt after 
bolt struck the Serampore compound. When the storm 
was spent, when the clouds lifted, and the light again 
appeared, there stood William Carey, undaunted and 
unafraid, for he trusted in Jehovah of Hosts. 

Financial disaster was the source of the storm. A 
bankers’ firm failed in Calcutta for three to five million 
sterling. The Serampore College and Mission lost all the 
funds it had in India. The professor’s position in the 
college had to be sacrificed due to the closing of the Fort 
William College. In recognition of his long and faithful 
service they gave him half of his salary. The storm, 
however, continued with unabated fury. Firms thought 
to be as established as the Bank of England failed. 


[ 80 | 


William Carey 


Marshman wrote January 6, 1833, “Carey has lost his 
last farthing.” England was then responding. The call 
of distress and need was broadcast all over England, 
and the response was immediate and tremendous. The 
gifts that began flooding the Serampore Mission on every 
ship drove the missionaries to their knees in thanks- 
giving and prayer. “ Before they call I will answer.” 


The Passing of Carey 


The sun broke through the clouds. The quiet of an 
eternal rest was breaking over his soul. ‘“‘ The best was 
yet to be. The last of life for which the first was made.” 
The peace that man cannot give or take away was set- 
tling over his spirit. He himself wrote, “I have scarcely 
a wish ungratified.” The light that finally shone was the 
light that told of a better, happier day, “ where the Lamb 
of God is the light thereof.” 

One day a visitor came into the room of the old man. 
Carey had met this Scotch Highlander before. He had 
come to see him three years ago, and a strong friendship 
had sprung up between these two men. Now Carey was 
in his bedroom when Alexander Duff entered. The old 
veteran, scarred with many campaigns, and the young 
soldier communed. Duff told Carey how he had changed 
the thinking of the Christian world. He talked a long 
time of the great debt that all the world owed to Carey. 
The old man raised his hand, as tears filled his eyes. 
- Looking at Duff he said, “ Pray.” With a breaking heart 
Duff sank to his knees, and poured out his soul. Re- 
freshed, after “casting all his care upon God” he arose © 
and said “ Good-bye.” He walked toward the door and 
looked back. Carey was beckoning to him. He went 


[ 81 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


back to the bedside of the dying man. Carey looked up 
into his face and said: “ Mr. Duff, you have been speak- 
ing about Doctor Carey, Doctor Carey; when I am gone, 
say nothing about Doctor Carey—speak about Doctor 
Carey’s Saviour.” Writes Dr. J. Culross in his William 
Carey, “ Duff went away rebuked and awed, with a lesson 
in his heart that he never forgot.” 

Again, the pages of the past are open. Another picture 
of the closing months stands out. The Serampore College 
must be protected. Marshman, his son, and William 
Carey drew up “the unalterable Statutes of the College.” 
The future policy was carefully guarded. He who so 
loved the Bible, he who had given his life to the work 
of putting the Bible into the hands of India’s millions, 
was not content to permit the college to depart from its 
teachings. So they wrote: 

The College Councillors and professors must be true believers 
in Christ’s divinity and atonement, and must vacate their office, 
if they so change their views as to be constrained to oppose these. 


Only this change must be proven from their writings or teachings, 
and its evidence be published to the Christian world. 


Into the hands of the new trio of leaders was the col- 
lege now placed. It was committed to them with this 
trust. Nobly did these younger men of God, John Mack, 
John Marshman, and John Leechman, carry on. 

The night stole on in all quietness. ‘There was no 
moaning of the bar.” The fight of faith had been bravely 
fought. The race of life had been well run. No urge of 
men, nor lure of wealth had been his gleam. No vision of 
_ slaves, nor thought of conquest. had stirred his blood. 
Bravely this “living sacrifice’ had gone under the divine 
leadership of the Holy Spirit. 


[ 82 ] 


William Carey 





He had passed the threescore years and ten. He had 
accomplished the work which he had set out to do. 
Heaven’s gates opened on June 9, 1834, as the soul of 
William Carey went to the home prepared for him by his 
Saviour. When they carried his earthly tabernacle to 
its last resting-place, the road was lined with the poor 
Hindus, Mohammedans, and Christians, all testifying 
to their affection for him, and bound together by the cords 
of their common sorrow. Over his grave is a small stone 
inscribed according to his wishes before he died: 


WILLIAM CAREY 


Born AvucustT 17, 1761 
Diep JUNE 9, 1834 


A wretched, poor, and helpless worm, 
On thy kind arms [ fall. 


Is it any wonder that John Leechman wrote home: 


Now, what shall we do? God has taken up our Elijah to 
heaven—he has taken our master from our head today. He had 
finished his course gloriously. 


Meekest of men, to him do men turn to give tribute to- 
day. Humblest of the early pioneers, he is exalted above 
them all. Tempted by wealth and position as full professor 
in Fort William College at nine thousand dollars a year, 
he gave it all to the common mission treasury. During 
his life William Carey gave over forty thousand pounds 
to the Baptist missionary work in India. Friend nor foe, 
acquaintance nor stranger could turn him from his goal. 


[83] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





He was determined “ to lengthen the cords and strengthen 
the stakes.’”’. In his book on Carey, George Smith writes, 
“Carey, the Father of the Second Reformation through 
Foreign Missions.” He was a traveler and a linguist, 
a preacher and a statesman, a missionary and a professor, 
“a world citizen.” 


[ 84 ] 


IV 


ADONIRAM JUDSON 


— 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER IV 


. America’s first missionaries sail, on February 19, 1812. 
. The Judsons and Luther Rice become Baptists through study 


of the Bible. 


3. Birth of Judson, August 9, 1788, at Malden, Massachusetts. 


Oo CON OC 


10. 


Lue 


re 


. Training of Judson: 


(1) Reared in a Congregational parsonage. 
(2) Graduated from Providence College at age of nineteen. 
(3) Graduated from Andover Seminary. 


. Some important decisions by Judson: 


(1) Dedicated himself to God on December 2, 1808. 

(2) Joined the Congregational Church on May 28, 1809. 

(3) Became a member of the immortal group of the Hay- 
stack Prayer-meeting. 

(4) Commissioned as a missionary by the Congregationalists. 

(5) Married Ann Hasseltine on February 5, 1812. 


. Beginnings of the mission in Rangoon, Burma, on July 13, 1813. 
. The first convert, Moung Nau, baptized on June 27, 1819. 
. The mission at Ava begun in 1824. 


. Judson’s sufferings: 


(1) In death prison at Ava eleven months. 
(2) In prison at Oungpenla for six months. 
(3) Wife died on October 24, 1826. 


Many changes: 


(1) Mission moved to Maulmain in August, 1827. 

(2) Judson married Sarah H. Boardman on April 10, 1834. 
(3) Revised version of the Bible ready by October 24, 1840. 
(4) Judson arrived in America in 1845. 

(5) Judson married Fanny Chubbuck, June 2, 1846. 


Judson’s last years: 


(1) With his children. 
(2) Finished his Burmese dictionary. 
(3) Died on shipboard in April of 1850. 


America’s first foreign missionary. 


ADONIRAM JUDSON 
“For the love of Christ constraineth us.”—2 Corinthians 5: 14. 


Wars and rumors of wars were in the air. The whole 
civilized world had felt the menace of the armies of 
France under Napoleon. The great general, however, 
was just experiencing the disaster of his Russian inva- 
sion. South America was beginning to realize the force 
of Simon Bolivar’s struggle for liberty. The Thirteen 
Colonies were at war with Great Britain. The booming 
of cannon, the clashing of swords, and the killing of men 
held the interest of the people. How could they know 
that the small shipping vessel setting out from the rugged 
New England coast was an event of world importance? 


America’s First Missionaries Sail 


It was the winter of 1812. The Caravan under Captain 
Heard was bound on its long voyage. No travelers had 
ever left the colonies on such a mission as these who were 
passengers on this brig. No idea of waging war was 
in their minds. No thought of killing men to conquer 
nations lured them on. They were following a heavenly 
gleam. They were seeking untutored folks and benighted 
lands. They were desirous of planting the Cross of 
Christ in lands where his Cross was unknown. 

The time had come for the vessel to sail. ‘No salute 
was fired as they left the harbor of Salem, Massachusetts, 
on February 19, 1812. No company of soldiers accom- 
panied these warriors of Christ to their vessel. In fact, 


[ 87 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


very few of the colonists even knew that Mr. and Mrs. 
Judson and Mr. and Mrs. Newell were starting that day 
for India. Even among those where this was known, 
many thought of them as foolish and as throwing away 
their lives. How could they know that years later, when 
they returned, except those who had paid the supreme 
price, all America would be ringing with their names. 

It was a long, weary journey with nothing to relieve the 
monotony. No radio concert. No games, no entertain- 
ment—yjust stretches of the vast Atlantic everywhere day 
after day. How small seemed their craft as it was caught 
in the billows of this mighty ocean. Still no land ap- 
peared; and these folks who had never had a sea voyage 
learned to “cast all their care upon him.” After almost 
four months Cape Hope was sighted and brought cheer. 
Several weeks still remained of the voyage before they 
were welcomed in Calcutta on June 17, 1812, by William 
Carey. Carey took them to Serampore, and there they 
waited the arrival of the rest of their little band who 
had started from Philadelphia when they left Salem, but 
who did not arrive for several weeks. What a reunion 
in Serampore of the Judsons, the Newells, the Notts, 
Rice, and Hall, the first missionaries of America to India, 
who went out under the Congregational Board! 


The Judsons Become Baptists 


A division had come in this group. During the ocean 
voyage, the Judsons and Luther Rice had done some extra 
studying of the subject of baptism. They realized that 
they were going to come into contact with William Carey, 
the noted Baptist missionary, and felt that they must be 
prepared to answer his arguments. How little did they 


[ 88 ] 


Adoniram Judson 





know of Carey, for they had never met him. On their 
ship the Judsons spent hours in discussion, Bible study, 
and prayer. The crux of the question to them, at first, 
was ‘“ Ought the children also to be baptized upon the 
strength of their parents’ faith?” The more they studied, 
the more sure they became that the Baptists were right 
and they were wrong. Faith must precede baptism. This 
was the plain teaching of the New Testament. Baptism 
must be by immersion. The Bible teaching under God’s 
sky unchanged by bigoted men brought them to the full 
orthodoxy of the Baptist position. 

What a struggle there must have been for Judson on 
that ship! Schooled in Congregationalism by his father 
and mother, reared in the Congregational church, and 
having been received into its membership three years ago; 
sent out by the Congregational Board, and accompanied 
by other Congregationalists, including his wife, to take 
the gospel to the heathen; he was practically unknown to 
the Baptists, and they had no Foreign Society. What 
would be the outcome of it all? 

Was it really necessary to make of baptism such an im- 
portant doctrine? Could he not believe these doctrines 
and still subjugate them to the all-important doctrine of 
obedience to Jesus as the soul’s greatest act? Was not 
baptism obedience’? Did he not command men “ to bap- 
tize”? No one could have had more anxiety than did 
Judson during this period. Yet the supreme question 
that he must settle was to discover and do the will of 
God. He was not guided by the crowd, by his friends, but 
by God. He had taken up this crusade in obedience to 
Jesus, and he was determined to obey to the end. While 
he and his wife were waiting at Serampore for the rest 


[ 89 | 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


of their companions, they continued the study of the bap- 
tismal question. They read all the books that they could 
possibly secure on the subject. Decision was finally made, 
and Adoniram Judson and his wife were baptized by Rev. 
William Ward in Calcutta on September 6. They were 
joined very soon in this by Luther Rice, who afterward 
became the flaming evangel for the cause of Baptist mis- 
sions in America. 

This meant the necessity of organizing a mission sepa- 
rate from their brethren who had come out with them 
under the Congregational Board. “It meant the severing 
of their connections with the American Board. It occa- 
sioned the writing of a letter to Doctor Baldwin, one 
of Boston’s Baptist pastors, the memorable letter that 
contained the sentence which brought into being the For- 
eign Mission Society: ‘“ Should there be formed a Baptist 
Society for the support of a mission in these parts, I shall 
be ready to consider myself their missionary.” 


Birth of Judson 


Who was this man whose challenge caused the move- 
ment among American Baptists that made them a great 
Christian force, who up to that time had been a scat- 
tered and disorganized folk? Adoniram Judson was 
born August 9, 1788, in the village of Malden, Massachu- 
setts. His father was a New England Congregational 
pastor, and Adoniram was his firstborn. He was of the 
rock-hewn Yankee stock that builds firmness and con- 
stancy into character. He was a taciturn man, whom his 
children loved and yet held in awe. 

The life-long companion and confidante of his life was 
his younger sister Abigail. It was to her that so many 


[ 90 | 


Adoniram Judson 


letters were written. It was Abigail’s interest and prayers 
that ever urged him on. ‘“‘ When he was a small lad, 
Adoniram and his companions used to play church,” she 
records. ‘‘ He always preached the sermon himself, and 
his favorite hymn was ‘Go, Preach My Gospel, Saith 
the Lord.’ ”’ 


Training of Judson 


Adoniram loved books more than he did play. He was 
reading all the time. He read his father’s theological 
treatises, and delighted in the reading of Revelation more 
than any other book in the Bible. His father rejoiced in’ 
this thirst for books and said, “ You shall have books, 
Adoniram, just as many as you can read.” 

This book knowledge proved a great help to him in his 
college work. He entered Brown University—known 
then as Providence College—in 1804. He had studied 
Latin and Greek at the age of ten; but still he worked 
hard during his collegiate years. He graduated from the 
College in 1807 at the age of nineteen as the valedictorian 
of his class. 

During these years away from home he became skep- 
tical. Was there a God? If there was a God, did he 
really communicate with his people? French infidelity 
was sweeping the Colonies at this time; and some were 
being caught in its meshes. When he went home after 
graduating, he decided to make a tour of the Northern 
States. Before saying good-bye he told his Puritan father 
of his skepticism. When his parents bade him farewell 
that day they did so with aching hearts. His mother’s 
face was bathed in tears of physical sorrow, but more 
deeply spiritual grief at the apparent waywardness of 


[91] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


her boy who had been reared in the atmosphere of New 
England piety. 

Adoniram first visited the Hudson River Valley and 
saw with amazement and delight the second trip of the 
new invention “The Robert Fulton steamer.” Thrilled 
with the new wonders, he journeyed to New York City 
and joined a band of roving players, for the sake of the 
adventure. Soon he started back to his uncle’s in Con- 
necticut to secure his horse and journey westward. The 
fever of the unexplored was taking possession of him. 
He stopped one night at a wayside inn. The landlord as- 
sured him that he had a room. “ But,” said he, “ it is 
the only one I have left, and is next to one where a 
young man is very, very ill. He may die any minute. I 
am truly sorry, for it will probably disturb your rest, 
but I cannot help it.’ Judson assured the man that he 
would not mind it; and so he went to bed, but not to 
sleep. He heard groans from the next room, and the 
stealthy steps of the watchers, coming and going. A soul 
was passing into eternity. These thoughts ran through 
his mind. Was the man prepared to die? Yet, what was 
that to him, who was a freethinker? Still a praying 
mother and father had made their impress on him. The 
wind seemed to screech more piercingly that night. 
Silence came at last, but not sleep, only thoughts of God, 
home, and his own life of the last few months. 

Next morning he asked the landlord about his neigh- 
bor. ‘“ He is dead,” the landlord said. “ He was a young 
man from Providence College—a bright fellow.” 


Then [writes Dr. E. Judson in his book “ Adoniram Judson” 
was Judson completely stunned. He attempted to pursue his 
journey. But one single thought possessed his mind, and the 


[ 92 | 


Adoniram Judson 





words, Dead! lost! lost! were continually ringing in his ears. He 
knew the religion of the Bible to be true; he felt its truth; and 
he was in despair. In this state of mind, he resolved to abandon 
his scheme of traveling, and at once turned his horse’s head toward 
Plymouth, his home. 


Some Important Decisions by Judson 


Mother’s tears of sorrow were turned to tears of 
joy. Father’s prayers were answered. Their child had 
come home. Adoniram soon entered Andover Theo- 
logical Seminary. He was not yet a church-member, and 
manifestly far from becoming a preacher. On December 
2, 1808, he dedicated himself to God; and on May 28, 
1809, he united with the Third Congregational Church at 
Plymouth. At the age of twenty-one he thus joined the 
forces of God. 

A life so positive and of such a strenuous nature must 
find an outlet in service. The decision reached in that 
early morning hour in the country inn must be kept. 
The uppermost thought of his mind now was “ Is it pleas- 
ing to God?” He read a sermon entitled “The Star in 
the East,” preached by Dr. C. Buchanan, who had been 
a chaplain to the British East India Company. The ser- 
mon proved to be the match that started the blaze that 
was waiting in his soul. It described “ the process of the 
gospel in India.” He did not as yet make openly his 
declaration of missionary purpose. 

In the early part of 1810 there entered Andover five 
young men. Four of these men were from Williams 
College. They had formed a missionary society, and 
were accustomed to meet at night near the college grounds 
beneath a haystack. Judson was one of this group, who 
here dedicated themselves to foreign missions. They 


[ 93] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


were Samuel J. Mills, Jr., James Richards, Luther Rice, 
Gordon Hall, and Adoniram Judson. At this prayer- 
meeting spot today stands the Haystack Monument for- 
ever commemorating the birthplace of American Foreign 
Missions. 

Judson was surrounded now with perplexities and dif- 
ficult situations. He was offered the position of colleague 
to the pastor of the largest church in Boston. His father 
and mother both tried to dissuade him. There was no 
missionary society to send him and his fellows. Con- 
secration and determination were at stake. 

The young men wrote to the London Missionary 
Society offering their services. They talked the matter 
over with their professors. They submitted a letter to 
the General Association of the Congregational Churches 
of Massachusetts. The result was the appointment of 
a “Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.” 
This was the first foreign missionary society in Amer- 
ica. It sent Judson to England to secure the support of 
the English churches. The Board thought that there 
was not enough missionary sentiment among the churches 
at home to make it possible for them to send out these 
young men. The English Board welcomed Judson, but 
sent back word that they thought it unwise to estab- 
lish any sort of joint missionary responsibility. The 
result was the arousal of the Congregational Board and 
the commissioning of 


Messrs. Adoniram Judson, Jr., Samuel Nott, Jr., Samuel Newell, 
and Gordon Hall to labor under the direction of this Board in 
Asia, either in the Burman Empire, or in the Surat, or in Prince 
of Wales Island, or elsewhere, as, in the view of the Prudential 
Committee, Providence shall open the most favorable door. 


[94 ] 


Adoniram Judson 


The way was open. The Board had voted. The leader- 
ship of the Holy Spirit was made plain. Judson was 
happy. The girl of his heart’s desire, Ann Hasseltine, 
became his wife on February, 5, 1812. Just two weeks 
later the young married couple, missionary enthusiasts, 
sailed from their homeland for far-off India. 

When they reached India they found that the Fast 
India Company was practically in control. This company 
had curtailed much of the missionary work of Carey and 
was determined to keep out all missionaries, especially 
any one from America. England and America were still 
fighting for freedom of the seas. 

The missionaries were ordered by government author- 
ities to report at Calcutta. They were told that they must 
return to America. By special request, however, they 
secured permission to sail to the Isle of France. This 
isle was made famous in American foreign missions as 
the burial-spot of Mrs. Harriet Newell, the first martyr. 
God was sowing seed for the rich harvest that was to 
come. 


Beginnings of the Mission in Rangoon 


After remaining here for four months the Judsons 
sailed for India, and Luther Rice for America. Rice 
went back to arouse the Baptist churches to their glorious 
opportunity ; Judson, to India to seek a place to found a 
mission. He with his wife landed in Madras, where they 
were entertained by an English missionary. The ever- 
active eye of the East India Company was on them, and 
so they had to move. There was only one vessel in the 
harbor, and that was bound for Rangoon. Here was a 
dilemma. They must take this vessel or return to Amer- 


[ 95 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


ica. Can we not rightly say, “The Holy Spirit forbade 
them to go to America’? Rangoon meant being in the 
dominion of the Burmese despot. On July 13, 1813, they 
landed in Rangoon, not by choice, but by divine direction 
and began the work of what is now the largest station 
of the Foreign Mission Society. Judson established him- 
self in the home of Felix Carey, who soon afterward be- 
came an ambassador of the Burmese emperor. 

They were strangers in a strange land. They had 
severed all connection with the Congregational Board. 
They knew not whether the Baptists were going to sup- 
port them or not. There was no news from America. 
During these months the Judsons were sustained by the 
Mission at Serampore. Finally in September of 1815 
word came that they had been appointed as missionaries 
of the American Baptist Convention. Over three years 
had passed since leaving their native land, but they were 
now established in their God-appointed place. 

The language of the country must at once be mastered, 
and the Bible given to the people in their own vernacular. 
How? There was no Burmese grammar. Judson wrote 
one. With that same persistence he finished his first 
translation of the Gospel of Matthew into Burmese in 
1816. He also edited several tracts to secure the attention 
of the natives who were steeped in Buddhism. He had 
come as God’s messenger, and no obstacle was too large 
for his heavenly Father to overcome. 

Two arrivals at this time cheered him. The first was 
that of Mr. and Mrs. George Hough from America. 
They were the first missionaries to be sent out from the 
United States by the new Baptist Society. They came to 
take charge of the printing-press. The second and more 


[ 96 ] 





ADONIRAM JUDSON 


Apostle to Burma 





Adoniram J udson 


important advent was the birth of their first child. Roger 
Williams Judson was born September 11, 1815. Joy was 
soon turned into deepest sorrow. The baby lived only 
a few days over seven months. They had buried their 
boy under Burma’s sod. The call of God had brought 
them, and now the link of the little mound in the mission 
compound held them. The baby—was he not also an 
offering, martyr’s seed that God’s cause might prosper 
in this country of dark heathenism? 


The First Convert from Buddhism 


Thoughtfully and prayerfully they continued to work. 
In 1818 they were joined by two couples, the Colmans 
and the Wheelocks. Time was now at hand for an exten- 
sion of the work. A zayat was built, a building dedicated 
in Burma to Christian work. On April 4, 1818, Judson 
delivered his first public sermon in this zayat. The build- 
ing became a literal “house by the side of the road.” 
Many were the inquirers who dropped in to discuss re- 
ligion. Still none of them were converted. Over seven 
years had passed since leaving America, and not a 
single Burman had been baptized. In the inquirers’ class 
were a few who were very serious. They were intensely 
searching for God. Finally on June 27, 1819, Moung 
Nau was baptized as the first convert of the American 
Baptists. The harvest had started. Six years of Christian 
work turned a confirmed worshiper of Buddha into a lover 
and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now others 
joined, and in Rangoon was organized a Baptist church, 
and for the first time the missionaries of America and 
the converts of Burma fellowshiped in the Lord’s Supper. 

Trouble and strife were in the air. Persecution of the 


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- mission became open. Judson decided to visit the Bur- 
mese emperor in Ava. He hoped to secure from him 
special protection by securing permission to teach and 
preach the Christian religion. Colman accompanied Jud- 
son on his trip up the Irrawaddy. They returned dis- 
heartened. They gained the audience with the emperor, 
but they did not secure his permission. Rather were they 
told that “ any Burman who changed his religion to Chris- 
tianity would incur the displeasure of the king.” The 
missionaries decided to remove to Chittagong, which was 
under English rule. The converts, however, begged them 
to stay. Judson told them of his visit to their emperor 
and all that it meant; but they .remained stedfast and 
persuaded him to change his plans. The other mission- 
aries went to Chittagong; but Judson and his wife stayed 
in Rangoon, and thus were again alone. Some marvelous 
victories of faith came during the next few months. In 
five months seven were baptized, and the Holy Spirit was 
proving to them the power of the living God. 

Mrs. Judson’s health was now so impaired that it was 
necessary to seek a competent physician. They went 
first to Calcutta and then to Serampore. At this latter 
city they were much cheered and comforted by the asso- 
ciation they enjoyed with the English Baptists. So much 
better was Mrs. Judson that she returned with her hus- 
band to Rangoon on January 5, 1821. Her condition 
soon became so serious that it was decided that she must 
return home for recovery. On August 21, 1821, Mrs. 
Judson embarked for America. It was a sad parting. 
Both realized that they might not meet again this side 
of the glory land. Both knew that if they did meet the 
parting would be for over two years. Yet they had placed 


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Adoniram Judson 





obedience to Jesus Christ above everything else; and no 
matter what sacrifice was required they offered it to him 
in order that Burma might be brought to Christ. 

During the months of loneliness Judson was comforted 
by the arrival of Doctor and Mrs. Price. Five months 
after they came Mrs. Price gave her life for Burma and 
was laid beside little Roger. JKnit together were the souls 
of Price and Judson. The fame of Price’s medical ability 
had spread to Ava, and he was summoned by the emperor. 
Judson decided to accompany him, hoping that this might 
be the time when the Burmese despot would grant per- 
mission for the extension of the Christian religion. 


The Mission at Ava Begun 


The second visit proved more profitable than the first. 
A plot of land was given Judson on which to build a 
home. The land was his, and in the control of Amer- 
ican Baptists, as long as a teacher resided in Ava. 
So pleased was Judson at this turn of affairs that he 
decided to leave the work in Rangoon in charge of the 
other missionaries, and move to Ava to establish a new 
station. He waited to make this change until Mrs. Judson 
returned from America, which she did the thirteenth day 
of December, 1823. By this time Judson had finished 
his first complete translation of the New Testament into 
Burmese. 

This change of stations seemed to be for the best. Mrs. 
Judson organized a class for the Burmese girls. Mr. 
Judson held public worship every evening at the home 
of Doctor Price. During this time, however, war clouds 
were gathering. The First Burman War broke out in 
May, 1824, when Great Britain bombarded Rangoon. 


29] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


The Burmans had arrested the missionaries in that city 
and threatened them with death. The capture of the city 
by the English saved their lives. This angered the Bur- 
mese despot, and in his rage he caused a large army to be 
marshaled to go and seek to destroy the enemy. He also 
ordered all white men imprisoned. To this emperor the 
Americans were no different than the English. How 
did he know but what these Americans in Ava had come 
particularly as spies for the government of Great Britain? 
On June 8, 1824, Judson and Price were seized with other 
foreigners and cast into the death prison. 


Judson’s Sufferings 


Two years passed without a word from Judson to the 
Baptist churches of America. Two years of suffering, 
anguish, and despair to loved ones in America! Two 
years of prayer, faith, and trust in the protection of the 
heavenly Father! Two years of waiting, and watching 
by those who believed in the Great Commission of Jesus! 

Pen can never describe, nor can artist paint, the horrors, 
or heartaches, of those years for the Judsons themselves. 
Mrs. Judson outlived the years by but a few months. 
Mr. Judson’s entire life felt the effect of those months 
of awful suffering. Torn from his wife by the soldiers, 
taken to live in a building unfit for cattle, compelled to 
stay in that loathsome place for over eleven months— 
Judson was only sustained by the grace of God. 

About one hundred men and women were kept in this 
prison. It was never washed, or swept, nor were the 
prisoners given opportunity for ablutions. Every after- 
noon at three came the most awful hour of the day. 
Even the most excruciating suffering of this prison was 


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Adoniram Judson 


dumb as that hour approached. No word was spoken. 
No song was sung. The unspeakable smell, the beating 
of the rays of the sun on the roof, the passing of the 
hot, putrid air through the cracks in the walls, and the 
fearful anxiety of awaiting doom were supreme. It was 
the death-hour. The gong clanged. The door opened. 
The leer of the vicious executioner was seen. He entered 
the prison. Whose turn was it now? ‘There had been 
no word of warning of impending doom. Yet he would 
seize one or more of the prison inmates and lead them 
to their death, and no explanation or trial would be given. 
Two men were taken: another day of life for the rest. 

Life, yes, but what an experience! Judson, the meticu- 
lous gentleman, the Christian missionary; and Price, the 
physician, compelled to remain in this enclosure of thirty 
by forty with all the other prisoners. Irons weighing 
three pounds to a pair were placed on their ankles. Some- 
times Judson had to wear five pairs of these with his 
feet held up. Every day Mrs. Judson came to visit him, 
bearing some food. This was the bright time of the day. 
His faith never wavered. His fellow prisoners told of 
his wonderful trust in God. 

Then came a time when his wife could not come. 
Alone in that strange and hostile city she gave birth to a 
baby girl, Mary Elizabeth Judson. With what joy the 
father welcomed his new daughter when his wife brought 
her to his prison home twenty days after her birth. He 
tells that his cup was “ overflowing.” This great soul be- 
lieved in the wisdom of God, and looked upon his little 
daughter as a messenger of heaven sent to cheer and 
comfort her parents. 

The vermin and the filth remained, and finally fever 


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smote this man of God. His health broke under the 
terrific strain of all these afflictions. His faithful wife, 
despairing of his life, made such an earnest and inces- 
sant appeal to the governor that he gave his official sanc- 
tion for Judson to be moved. This order was immediately 
carried out, and Ann Judson was given permission to go 
in and out of this small hovel which was his new prison. 
New hope came to both of the Judsons through this kind- 
ness, only to be dashed to the ground in a more severe trial. 

All the prisoners were suddenly removed to the country 
prison at Oungpenla. Judson with the others had been 
dragged before the court-house. He had been stripped 
of all clothing except his shirt and pantaloons, and had 
been tied to another prisoner. The day was blistering 
hot. The Oriental sun made the gravel and the sand feel 
like hot coals as the prisoners were driven with bare feet 
out of the city. A slave held the rope that tied the 
prisoners and urged them onward. The skin was soon 
burned off the feet, and Judson, weakened by fever, asked 
fora ride. This was scornfully denied; but the man who 
was yoked to him permitted him to lean on his shoulder. 
That soon proved too much for his companion. A Ben- 
galese servant, however, took off his head-dress, tore it 
in two, and wrapped it around Judson’s feet, and almost 
carried him the rest of the way. But for these kindnesses, 
Judson might have been beaten and left to die. 

What a sight greeted the prisoners’ eyes! A building 
all but fallen to pieces in which they were to be incar- 
cerated. They immediately recalled the gossip of Ava 
that they were being led to this new prison, and here they 
were to be burned. The place and the people seemed 
to be all ready for the last act of the drama of life. Here 


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Adoniram Judson 


Ann Judson found her husband when she arrived a few 
hours later. 

One of the most remarkable proofs of the divine provi- 
dence and special blessing of God came at this time. Mrs. 
Judson had taken his unfinished manuscript of the Bible, 
wrapped it up, and given it to Judson to use as a pillow. 
When his possessions were taken from him, just before he 
was driven to Oungpenla, one of the guards threw this 
apparently worthless roll away. Moung Ing, a Burmese 
Christian, who had faithfully remained with Mrs. Judson, 
found this roll and kept it. The book discarded by the 
Burmese guard became part of Judson’s Burmese Bible. 

The prison, which they entered with so much fear, 
proved much better than the one at Ava. Much more 
freedom was given to the prisoners, they were even per- 
mitted to walk around in an enclosure during the day. 
When Mrs. Judson was taken sick, he was released to 
visit her once in a while. The jailers were very severe, 
however, until the death of the governor, who had ordered 
the transfer of the prisoners with the idea of sacrificing 
them. Then came the news of the success of the English 
arms and the approach of peace. 

The six months of imprisonment at Oungpenla were 
over, and Judson was released to act as an interpreter 
for the Burmese government and to help settle the war. 
So valuable did he prove himself to be to the govern- 
ment, that it was desired and urged that he stay in gov- 
ernment service; but he absolutely refused. Peace nego- 
tiations dragged on, the Burmese seeking to make as 
advantageous terms as possible. They were completely 
conquered by the English, however, and had to accept 
Great Britain’s terms. 


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The Judsons reached Rangoon after an absence of two 
years and three months. They could not remain here 
because anarchy reigned, so they moved to the new — 
town settled by the English, named Amherst, At the call 
of the government Judson went to Ava to serve as an 
interpreter. He was still hoping to secure an edict per- 
mitting the teaching of the Christian religion in Burma. 
As he waited news came to him that she who had saved 
his life during his months in prison had passed away. 
Ann Judson died October 24, 1826. Her life was a sacri- 
fice to her love for Jesus. Little Maria now became his 
one comfort, but she died six months later. His grief 
seemed more than he could bear. All were taken and only 
he left behind. He felt that for him now there was just 
the preparation for the meeting of his loved ones. 


Many Changes 


Change continued to visit the mission. Judson moved 
to Maulmain in August of 1827 where the Boardmans 
were already located. His heart was broken, and his 
spirit was weighed down. He sought seclusion and quiet. 
He became a recluse and an ascetic. He fasted and 
prayed. What had he done that he must suffer so? He 
even relinquished part of his salary, and turned over to 
the Board the fees that he had received for his work with 
the government. His sadness was increased by the leth- 
argy of the home churches. How could they be so slow 
in their obedience to God? Attempts to honor him met 
with refusals. He declined the degree of Doctor of 
Divinity given to him by Brown University. He dug a 
grave and sat beside it brooding and thinking of how 
his form would look after it had been there for some time. 


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Adoniram Judson 


Yet, Judson was very solicitous for his colleagues. He 
looked after their comfort, and gave them their greatest 
solace in time of sorrow. During these months and years 
he did an immense amount of translating. He nailed his 
all to the cross, and he was determined that no wish or 
desire of his life should ever issue in any deed unless it 
carried the message of the Cross. 

He loved to leave the city at times and journey to the 
hills. He was always longing to take the blessed gospel 
to tribes farther and still farther from the mission com- 
pound. He became intensely interested in the wild 
Karens, who today have come into our Baptist work in 
such numbers. These tours were through wild country 
and through jungles inhabited by savage beasts. Judson’s 
adventurous spirit seemed to rise out of its heart-sadness 
as he gained the mountain recesses and told these people 
of God. Boardman was the first missionary to these 
people, and Judson experienced great joy in helping him 
in his work. 

After eight years of loneliness Judson married Mrs. 
Sarah H. Boardman, who had been a widow for three 
years. She was staying in the hill-country carrying on 
the work among the Karens which her husband had 
started. They were married April 10, 1834. About this 
time Judson completed his first draft of the Bible into 
Burmese. He had gone to the original Hebrew and Greek 
and had carefully sought to give each work its Burmese 
equivalent. No wonder that Doctor Wayland wrote, “ It 
is the best translation in India.” He had no sooner 
finished his first draft than he sought to revise it. This 
he did after spending seven years more, and having it 
ready for printing on October 24, 1840. Thus twenty- 


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four years of his life are wrapped in this revised Bible— 
the work of a master mind guided by the Holy Spirit. 
Gladness and joy now began to flood into his life again. 
Abby Ann Judson was born on October 31, 1835, and 
Adoniram B. Judson in 1837. His health showed signs 
of the many hardships through which he had passed; and 
he was ordered to go to Calcutta. Irritation attacked his 
throat, and for almost a year he was unable to preach 
or teach. Great joy was in the heart of the native con- 
verts when they heard the voice of their loved leader 
preaching to them again. After his sea voyage he seemed 
stronger; but Mrs. Judson was attacked by a disease that 
later proved fatal. The whole family embarked for a 
voyage, but had a very tempestuous one. Three of the 
children were sick, and Mrs. Judson was unable to care 
for them. When they reached Serampore Henry, the 
baby, died. After a brief stay they embarked with a 
Scottish captain for Maulmain. He was going to that 
port by a circuitous route, and they thought the sea air 
would be beneficial. They did return much better in 
health and very grateful to the kind captain who had 
been so willing to take them, and who refused all pay 
for their passage. Mrs. Judson’s recovery was only for 
a short while. Every few months she was forced to take 
a sea voyage seeking health. The doctors finally said 
that unless she took a long voyage out of the tropics she 
could not live. Judson had been urged, had been invited, 
had been ordered, to come to America by the Board many 
times. He had always refused. Now, feeling that he 
must seek his wife’s health, they started for America. 
The three older children they took with them to grow up 
in their native land; but they left behind in Burma the 


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Adoniram Judson 


three younger, the youngest being but a little over three 
months old. They embarked on April 26, 1845, with 
much sorrow and tears. Mrs. Judson soon regained her 
strength to such an extent that it was thought that she 
could go on to America alone, and Judson prepared to 
go back to Burma. That night Mrs. Judson suffered a 
very severe relapse from which she never recovered. 
The disease which had so constantly pursued her for 
over six years proved fatal. They buried her on the 
island of St. Helena in September of 1845. She was 
only forty-two years old, but she had given twenty-one 
years to Burma. 

Judson and his three children arrived in Boston on 
October 15, 1845. A whole generation had passed on 
since he had left. A new world was waiting to greet him. 
For over thirty years he had thought in Burmese. He 
had lived among idol-worshipers. He had given his life 
to Burma. As he neared the American shore he became 
fearful. Where would he stay in Boston? Would they 
understand his latest sorrow in the death of his wife? 

America was ringing with his fame. Secular and re- 
ligious papers had recorded his courage in the midst 
of danger, and his stedfast faith through all his prison 
suffering. Homes were opened to him everywhere. Boys 
and girls followed him on the street as they follow great 
men. Crowds overflowed the meeting-places where he 
was scheduled to talk. He was the man of the hour. His 
name was on every one’s lips. And Judson? He liked 
it not. Naturally retiring, recently saddened—and soon 
after arriving hearing of the death of his little son Charlie, 
whom they had left in Burma—he would fain have found 
a quiet place. He wanted to rest awhile and then return 


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to his home in India. He urged the Board to permit him 
to return. 

The second day after his arrival in America he was 
scheduled to talk in one of the Boston churches. People 
swarmed to the meeting hoping to hear the thrilling story 
of Judson’s adventures and to see America’s first foreign. 
missionary. They looked upon a slim man, gaunt in ap- 
pearance, whose face was lined with suffering. Doctor 
Sharp had given him an eloquent welcome. Judson rose. 
A tenseness gripped the audience as they looked at the 
famous missionary. He spoke barely above a whisper, 
and then only a few words. All that he said was repeated 
by Doctor Hague. So affected was Judson’s throat that 
during all the rest of his life he was compelled to be 
cautious. Doctor Hague continued to talk, after he had 
given voice to Judson’s remarks, and lauded the mission- 
ary. While he was speaking he was interrupted by a 
man coming down the aisle, mounting the platform and 
embracing Judson. Samuel Nott, Jr—for it was he— 
could wait no longer. Judson and he alone were left of 
the young men who had covenanted together at the Hay- — 
stack prayer-meeting. As they stood there on the plat- 
form of the Boston Church in close embrace, many an 
eye filled and a lump came in many a throat, as the audi- 
ence saw Christian love exemplified and remembered that 
these two were the only living members of the band that 
started foreign missions. 

The calls on Judson were numerous, and despite his 
reluctance to appear so much in public he made many ad- 
dresses that stirred America. Yet many left his audience 
as disappointed as did those folks who attended that first 
meeting in Boston. He did not talk of himself. He did 


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Adoniram Judson 


not relate the stories of his sufferings! He preached 
Christ. He told the wonderful story of redeeming love. 
He knew many stories of genuine human interest; but 
he said, “It is the best story that I know.” 

As he went back and forth in the States his heart went 
out to India. One day in Philadelphia he went to the 
home of Doctor Gillette. While he was visiting in that 
home he met Miss Emily Chubbuck, a writer of some 
note. After becoming better acquainted with her he 
asked her to write the memoir of his late wife. The con- 
stant association that was thereby necessary caused the 
acquaintanceship to ripen into love. They were married 
on June 2, 1846, in Hamilton, New York. The mission- 
ary with his young wife was now more than ever eager to 
return to Burma and his native church. They were glad, 
therefore, to embark in July with five other missionaries 
for Maulmain. A long journey lay ahead, but sweet 
companionship was theirs, and the lure of the home and 
the little children awaiting them in the far-off land drew 
them on. 


Judson’s Last Years 


Everything had prospered since he had left. Judson 
rejoiced when he found the Burmese Church at Maul- 
main in such good condition. Before him was the task 
of finishing a Burmese dictionary. Still more important 
was the nation of Burma. He wanted to establish a mis- 
sion in Ava, the city of his sufferings. He desired to 
make known the gospel to his persecutors. He was 
eager to help make the stony heart of the emperor a 
heart of flesh. Resting but a short while, he and Mrs. 
Judson sailed for Rangoon. No thought of saving his 


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physical body ever entered his mind. He was “a living 
sacrifice.” 

In writing of her new home Mrs. Judson referred to 
it as “ Bat Castle.’ She wrote, ‘‘ Besides the bats, we are 
blessed with a full share of cockroaches, beetles, spiders, 
ants, rats, lizards, mosquitoes, and bedbugs.”’ In the 
midst of all these inhabitants she tried to make their house 
in Rangoon a real home. While she was still working 
in the home, news came of a fire at the mission com- 
pound at Maulmain that had destroyed all their best cloth- 
ing and valuable goods which they had brought back with 
them from America. When Judson came in that eve- 
ning and learned of the loss, and saw the question of the 
why of it in his wife’s eyes he said, “It is best for us 
that it should be so, blessed be God.” 

Judson constantly prayed for an open door. When 
he held services of worship he was forced to do it secretly. 
He wrote: “In all my troubles in this country, I never 
before looked on so discouraging a prospect. We are 
hunted down here like wild beasts; watched by the gov- 
ernment and plotted against by the Catholic priests.” His 
one hope was to secure favor of the emperor, so he again 
determined to visit the capital city. Huis face glowed with 
the prospect. He had received permission of the gov- 
ernor; and he and his wife prepared for the trip and 
were ready to start when news came that the Board could 
not afford to send him, so they went back to Maulmain 
after their sojourn of six months in Rangoon. He could 
understand heathen opposition. He could suffer persecu- 
tion and feel he was doing God’s will, but the thought of 
retreat because of the inability of the home base to rise 
to the emergency was more than he could understand. 


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Adoniram Judson 





It was a bitter and heart-rending disappointment. How 
modern seem these words of his: 


The Baptist churches now and then make a spasmodic effort to 
throw off a nightmare debt of some years’ accumulation, and then 
sink back into repose. Then come paralyzing orders to retrench, 
and new enterprises are checked in their inception. 


When two years later word finally came to Judson that 
he could go to Ava, for funds had been USES for 
that purpose, it was too late. 

He had reached the sixtieth year of his life. He greeted 
each day with a cheer. Every morning he would rise 
early and take a run over the hills. When he returned 
he would sit down and play with the children. He eagerly 
watched their development and prayed that they might 
early give their lives to Jesus. He wrote often to the 
family in America telling of his intercession for them; 
never sparing himself, but always eager to lighten an- 
other’s burden, and to carry another’s load. 

Shadows began to gather. He was traveling swiftly 
toward the sunrising of a better and nobler day. His 
throat trouble grew worse. One night in taking care of 
his children he took an additional cold that settled imme- 
diately on his lungs and produced a fever. They sent 
him out on two short voyages, but all to no avail. He was 
failing fast. They carried him on board the Aristide 
Marie on the third of April, 1850. He looked up and 
smiled, for he loved God’s sea. His disciples were weep- 
ing. He whom they loved was sick. His wife with a 
face bathed in tears kissed him good-by as he left her 
with the little ones. The ocean had never failed to return 
him to his own. Day followed day, and week followed 


Pebt?s) 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


week, and yet no word came to the waiting wife and 
children. Four weary months went by before the news 
came from Calcutta that America’s first foreign mis- 
sionary was dead. 

Taken on board the vessel he lived but a few days. 
Hours of most intense agony were his in the lonely 
cabin. Yet, as they waited on him and tried to relieve 
the pain he would talk of “the love of Christ.” At last 
peace. The anguish of physical pain, and the sorrows 
of the body forever left the form of the missionary. As 
the bark of his life reached its desired haven God’s Spirit 
gave quiet. In his beloved ocean, surrounded with the 
waters that ever lap the shore of India, they buried him 
on April 12, 1850. 


America’s First Foreign Missionary 


Judson called into being the American Baptist Foreign 
Mission Society. He translated the entire Bible into the 
Burmese tongue. Over seven thousand belonged to the 
Baptist churches in Burma when he died. Neither death 
of children nor loss of wife, neither persecution nor im- 
prisonment stopped this man of God. The will of God 
was the paramount issue in his life. He followed the 
teaching as found in the Book of Job and for him was 
the promise fulfilled, “ He knoweth the way that I take, 
and when he hath tried me I will come forth as gold.” 


[112] 


Vv 


ANN JUDSON 


nN — 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER V 


. The meeting of Nancy Hasseltine and Adoniram Judson. 
. The birth and early years of Ann Hasseltine. 


. Ann’s decisions: 


(1) Converted at a revival meeting. 
(2) Joined the Congregational Church at age of sixteen. 
(3) Dedicated her life as a missionary to India. 


. In the home in Rangoon: 


(1) Studying the Burmese language. 

(2) The boy Reger born on September 11, 1815; lived only 
a few months. 

(3) Seven months of loneliness while Judson was away in 
1817. 

(4) Leaving for America in 1821. 


. Ann’s only visit to the United States: 


(1) Sick at her parents’ home. 
(2) Spent the winter under the care of Dr. E. Judson. 
(3) Left America on June 22, 1823. 


. The new home in Ava: 


(1) The home reached on January 23, 1824. 

(2) Ann kept her husband alive while he was in prison— 
by taking him food. 

(3) Ann pleads constantly for his release. 


. Ann followed Judson and stayed with him at Oungpenla 


prison. 


. Ann smitten with spotted fever in 1825. 


9. The home-in Amherst: 


10. 


(1) The home established on July 2, 1826. 
(2) Ann, attacked by tropical fever, died October 24, 1826. 
Ann a willing sacrifice. 


ANN JUDSON 


“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of 
life."—Revelation 2 : 10. 

Nancy Hasseltine was the gayest of the gay. Her face 
glowed with the joy of life. She radiated happiness 
everywhere she went. No party was complete without 
her. The sweetness of her face, and the happiness of her 
life made her the most sought girl of the countryside. 
Her lips seemed to tell of romance, and her eyes of un- 
discovered depths of bliss. 


The Meeting of Ann Hasseltine and Adoniram Judson 


She waited in the doorway of the kitchen as her 
father’s guests came into the dining-room. Who was the 
young man with the brown eyes? She gazed into them, 
as those eyes returned the look, and lingered. Her face 
flushed! Her heart quickened its beat! The dawning of 
a love that was to carry her far from home and fire- 
side began. The young man was Adoniram Judson. 

Nancy watched him all during the meal. The love that 
was born of a look deepened as she served her father’s 
guests that day. The lure of the unattained had led them 
on. The churches of Massachusetts on this June day in 
1810 had voted to permit Judson and the three others to 
go to the other side of the world to carry the gospel mes- 
sage. As she looked she wondered at the bravery and 
courage of their proposal. Her heart burned as she re- 
membered that it was this young man Judson who had 
made the proposition which was adopted. 


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Why did not Judson look at her? Why did he not 
talk, so that she could know his thoughts? What made 
him so silent? See the height of his forehead. Note the 
strength of his face. Was he not hungry? His dinner 
was almost untouched. Nancy marveled at all this, little 
realizing that she had captivated the heart of this brilliant 
man who was challenging the churches with world vision. 

What a change had come over this fun-loving girl in 
the last few months. The winter of 1806 had been full 
of merrymaking. All of the young people of the village 
of Bradford had been engaged in parties, and Ann had 
been the most frivolous of them all. The traditions of 
severity and sternness of early New England were set 
aside for the fun and frolic of these days. 

Ann was not the same. To the keen, loving eyes of her 
mother it was certain that something was troubling her. 
Motherlike she was more than ever anxious over the 
restless activity of her beautiful girl. She could not com- 
plain of Ann’s grades, for she was a brilliant girl, and 
stood high in her studies. With a mother’s intuition she 
knew that her girl was going through a crisis. Little did 
Mrs. Hasseltine know what it was. 

Ann would not divulge her secret to her nearest and 
dearest friend. Instead she was ever urging on her com- 
panions in the gaiety of life that they might not know 
the trouble in her soul. Ann had been doing some very 
serious thinking. She was dissatisfied with herself and 
her life. She had dropped into the village church one eve- 
ning recently during a revival service and her mind was 
searching for “the Balm of Gilead.” No one must know 
of this. The popular and vivacious Ann Hasseltine be- 
coming religious? Impossible! 


[ 116 ] 


Ann J udson 


In the quiet of her room she searched for God. Where 
was he, and how could she find him? She began reading 
the Bible. Ann had no Christian teaching to help her 
as she set out in her quest for God. As she read the New 
Testament and the Son of God, Jesus, was revealed in 
all of his love and purity, the whole life of Ann sur- 
rendered to the perfect Christ. At the age of sixteen she 
gave her all to Christ, and with some of her schoolmates 
she joined the Congregational Church at Bradford. Then, 
with her enthusiasm and zeal she brought her parents to 
Christ and into the membership of the church. 


The Birth and Early Years of Ann Hasseltine 


Ann Hasseltine was born in Bradford, Massachusetts, 
on December 22, 1789. She was always an attractive 
girl; but as she grew into womanhood and was touched 
by the wonder of the saving grace of Christ her days 
radiated the beauty and love of a fully consecrated life. 
When she began teaching school, after her graduation 
from the academy, she made it one of her purposes to 
try to win her scholars to an allegiance to her Lord. Then, 
when love for Judson began to grow in her life—after 
that memorable meeting in June of 1810—Ann became 
even more lovely. 


Ann’s Decisions 


One of the greatest problems of her life was now wait- 
ing solution. No other American woman had set her an 
example. She was called on to blaze a new trail, and set 
a new standard of sacrifice. Judson asked her to be his 
wife and go with him on his world mission. Every one 
talked against her going. She must not throw her life 


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away on the heathen. Judson ought not to have asked 
her to make that sacrifice. Judson had been offered the 
postion of assistant to the pastor of the largest church in 
Boston; so why not settle down in this country? 

Her decision came with the same firmness that marked 
her entire life. No thought of personal comfort or per- 
sonal desire biased her decision. She had surrendered 
her all to Christ five years previously; and so when the 
issue was drawn she continued to follow in the trail of her 
Lord, content to do his will. 

Could, and would the churches send them? Very little 
money had come into the treasury. War with Great 
Britain was threatening. All was very indefinite and very 
poorly organized for the task of world missions. The 
word came at last that the missionaries could go. The 
government had granted permission, the date of sailing 
was announced, and all was in readiness. 

On February 5, 1812, Ann and Adoniram were married 
in her home village. The next day the first foreign mis- 
sionaries of America—Adoniram Judson, Samuel Newell, 
Samuel Nott, Gordon Hall, and Luther Rice—were sol- 
emnly dedicated and consecrated in the old Salem Church 
to the missionary task. Many an eye was dim and many 
a heart quickened its beat as they looked at these heroic 
men—yes, and more heroic women—who were going on 
the long journey that they might obey the final command 
of Christ, “Go into all the world, and preach the gospel 
to every creature.” 

The sailing vessel on which they were embarked was 
going toward the sunrising. America was fading from 
view. Father, mother, brothers, and sisters were left 
behind. In the small cabin of the ship the Newells and 


[118 J 


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the Judsons were singing songs of rejoicing and prais- 
ing God for his favor in permitting them to carry the 
message of his redeeming love to the unsaved world. 

How eagerly they looked forward to reaching Seram- 
pore, and seeing William Carey. With what joy they 
were greeted by the English Baptist missionaries, espe- 
cially when it was known that the Judsons had deter- 
mined—as a result of Bible study on the journey—to 
become Baptists. Quietness and content were not to be 
their lot. They were forced from one location to another 
by the government until they reached the Isle of France. 
Here on this island the first tragedy took place when 
the youngest of them all, Harriet Newell, paid the supreme 
sacrifice and was buried, about a year after leaving Amer- 
ica. In the sadness of this loss, however, the mission- 
aries firmly agreed to follow the gleam to the end. 


In the Home at Rangoon 


Seventeen months after leaving the homeland the Jud- 
sons settled in their God-appointed station at Rangoon, 
Burma. They moved into the house that was owned 
by one of Carey’s sons. Mrs. Felix Carey, who was a 
native of the city, received them and made them wel- 
come. Strangers they were in a strange land. The house 
was outside the city gates, yet in the territory of one 
of the most despotic rulers of their day. The word of 
the emperor was law. Might made right. Protection for 
life and property came only through bribing of the of- 
ficials. No one trusted the other. All of the vices of a 
nation steeped in idolatry and ignorance were manifested 
every day. 

Mrs. Judson had been carried to this new home. Sick- 


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ness had afflicted her almost to her death. Yet no kind 
hand of woman, or wisdom of a physician ministered to 
her. Ann Judson, the leader of social frivolity a few 
years previous, the idolized daughter in the home, was 
now the only white woman in a heathen country that was 
teeming with vice. Long were the hours, tedious were 
the months, and weary the years that she served before 
the fruitage of victory was given. 

Two months after their arrival in Rangoon they ob- 
served the Lord’s Supper—the first observance of the 
holy ordinance in Burma. What a faith was there dis- 
played! Thousands of miles from home; in a country 
destitute of the knowledge of Christ; with no others at 
the Lord’s table but themselves! On September 19, 1813, 
Mr. and Mrs. Judson commemorated the death of our 
Lordi tilshes comes 

Ann’s one immediate task was a knowledge of the 
Burmese language. There was no grammar, no diction- 
ary, no book, nothing in the way of literature to which 
she could turn. With her husband she spent from early 
morning until late at night studying Burmese under a 
native. Would she ever master it? More important, 
would she ever be able to talk it? So dauntless a woman 
as Mrs. Judson found no task too difficult for her to 
overcome. 

Another duty that called Ann was that of calling on 
the wife of the viceroy of the province. She looked for- 
ward to this call with fear but also determination. When 
she reached his home she was entertained by his many 
wives until the appearance of his first wife, who imme- 
diately began asking Mrs. Judson many questions. Was 
she the favorite wife? Was she the one whom her 


[ 120 ] 


Ann Judson 





husband loved the best? How long were they going to 
stay in Rangoon? In the midst of this battery of ques- 
tions the viceroy came into the room. He was a man 
of such vicious expression that Ann shrank from him in 
fear, though he treated her very kindly, and was very 
polite in his attitude toward her. 

This visit, as well as other visits to those in high au- 
thority, was the means of much protection. Mrs. Judson 
humbled many a pompous ruler with the charm of her 
personality. This beautiful woman made a deep im- 
pression on these Oriental rulers, the deep sincerity of her 
life and the loftiness of her purpose proved her to be so 
different from the listless creatures who were the com- 
panions of those Eastern potentates. This influence of 
Ann came in good stead during the trying months of 
Judson’s prison experience. 

The hours were sweetened and the days were hallowed 
as the Judsons worked together. No news from America 
as yet as to what the Baptists would do! They were sup- 
ported by the English Baptists at Serampore. Never did 
they doubt the leading of God, nor question him as to 
the wisdom of his leadership. Did they not have each 
other? Was not God good in keeping them in health and 
strength on this foreign soil? ‘In all their afflictions 
he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved 
them.” 

Mrs. Judson’s health began to decline. They both real- 
ized that she must see a competent physician, but there 
was none in Rangoon. The first separation of their mis- 
sionary career took place. Ann took passage to Madras 
with a native Burmese woman as her companion. Again, 
the providence of God was evident in the smoothness of 


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the journey, and the liberality of the captain who would 
accept no payment for the trip. So rapidly did she gain 
that Judson’s heart rejoiced when his beautiful wife re- 
turned restored in health and vigor, and glad of the op- 
portunity of carrying on for the sake of the people whom 
she was learning to love. 

Sunshine as well as shadows were their portion. Joys 
mingled in their sorrows. The crowning gift of God came 
to her home and heart in the birth of their first baby, 
Roger Williams Judson, September 11, 1815. The home 
was now complete—fathéer, mother, and child. Hearts 
were filled to overflowing with gratitude to God at this 
expression of his bountiful goodness. 

How Roger filled his mother’s life! Every day some 
new gesture, every day some new sound! The wonder of 
his beautiful big eyes! The constant growth of his small 
body! He was a great comfort to his parents in this 
far-off land across the sea. As the winter wore on Roger 
developed a fever, and then one night his little soul went 
back to the God who gave it. “ God gives, and God takes 
away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” 

The same day they followed his little body to the quiet 
burying-ground. The natives mourned with the parents 
over the death of the little baby. The little garden, which 
housed all that they had known of Roger’s early taber- 
nacle became a place of prayer and sorrow to the heart- 
broken mother. God was good, but why had he not per- 
mitted this one child of theirs to stay? Yet even as she 
prayed and thought she realized that they were now bound 
tighter than ever to this beautiful country. They had 
buried their own on foreign soil. They had been called 
on to sacrifice their little child that the Burmese church 


224 


Ann Judson 


might be established, and that God’s kingdom might pros- 
per in this heathen land. 

Their neighbors sought to comfort them. The viceroy’s 
wife visited Mrs. Judson with a large retinue of servants 
and attendants, and tried to show her sympathy. The 
greatest joy that came into their lives at this time was the 
knowledge that they had been adopted by the Baptists as 
their missionaries. Luther Rice with his impassioned 
missionary appeal had stirred the home churches, and 
now word came that other missionaries would be sent 
to Burma as soon as it was possible. The prayers, money, 
and fellowship of the Baptists of America were now 
theirs. After three years of separation from the Con- 
gregational Church they came into the realization that 
they had been formally adopted, and that the Baptist Tri- 
ennial Convention would finance their activities. 

Judson was beginning to show signs of his intense 
application. His eyes ached and pained so much that he 
could not study, and his general health was so depleted 
from the constant studying of the Burmese language that 
he needed the rest of an ocean voyage. It was, therefore, 
determined that he should go to Chittagong in India. The 
English Baptists had a mission there, but they had aban- 
doned it. Judson hoped that he could secure a convert 
there, and bring him back to Rangoon to preach. The 
trip would probably take about three months, but it meant 
separation. This time Mrs. Judson would be left at home. 

Every Sunday she would gather together a company 
of the Burmese women and talk to them of God. They 
often asked many questions. They desired to know the 
way of salvation, but they were timid. They must not do 
anything that would be against the wishes of their hus- 


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bands. They loved Ann. They liked to hear this white 
woman talk in their tongue. They enjoyed the story of 
Jesus, but they were not willing to break with their old 
lives. After these four long, weary years not one person 
had openly accepted Jesus. 

Ann gave herself whole-heartedly to the study of the 
language in these days. The greatest solace for her lone- 
liness was ceaseless activity. The native women often 
asked if she ever tired as she kept up her work. Yet, in 
the quietness of her own room the question ran through 
her mind, “ Where is my husband?” It was time for him 
to return. Every morning she watched for his ship on 
the horizon. One day a new vessel was sighted, and she 
hastened to hear the news. Yes, they had come over from 
Chittagong in just twelve days, but no Judson was on 
board. He had not been in Chittagong! His vessel had 
never reached Chittagong!! What should she think, 
whither should she go? Where, oh, where was Judson? 
Was he living? Had his vessel been swept off its course, 
and was he somewhere on the boundless deep? With 
no mother to quiet her fears, no dear friend to whom she 
could pour out her heart, this courageous woman trusted 
and labored. 

Now another month passed, and still no word from 
Judson. Nor were things quiet in Rangoon. Talk of 
war was in the air: war between Great Britain and Burma. 
Minor officials of the empire continued to make much 
trouble in order that they might secure many bribes. So 
fraught with danger became the city that it was deter- 
mined they must leave—Mr. and Mrs. Hough, the other 
missionaries who had been sent out by the Baptists, and 
Mrs. Judson. Ann was determined to stay in the city. 


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Ann Judson 


Two things held her there. One was the fact that if 
Judson was living he would try to return to Rangoon to 
find her. The other was the little mound in the garden. 
Her companions, however, finally persuaded her to go 
with them, and she embarked after saying a tearful fare- 
well to the many native women who loved her. 

They left Rangoon with much foreboding. The vessel 
sailed to the mouth of the river and then anchored. Ann, 
who was sure that she should have stayed in Rangoon, 
disembarked and returned to her home. The vessel had 
proved to be unseaworthy. How happy Mrs. Judson 
was that she had made up her mind to go home, for two 
days afterward the ship on which Judson had sailed 
came into port. Where was Judson? No one knew. 
The vessel on which he had taken passage had been tossed 
in the Bay of Bengal for several weeks and then had 
made port at Masulipatam. Judson had told the cap- 
tain that he was going to Madras hoping to ship from 
there to Rangoon. That was several weeks ago. Where 
was he now? “ Hope deferred maketh the heart sick.” 
Mrs. Judson was showing the signs of the long torture 
of waiting. Some day a vessel would bring the news; 
but what news? An English vessel was at the mouth of 
the river, and, oh joyous message, “ Judson is aboard!” 
The three months had lengthened into seven, but when 
the reunion took place it was almost more than Mrs. 
Judson could stand. As they knelt together again at the 
family altar they united most fervently in the prayer that 
had been theirs during the long years of their lives in 
Burma. “God grant that we may live and die among 
the Burmans, though we should never do anything else 
than smooth the way for others.” 


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Together the Judsons again faced their chosen task. 
They decided to erect a house for preaching, a “ zayat.”’ 
Several of the natives were becoming very much inter- 
ested in religion, and they were earnestly hoping that these 
would soon confess Christ. For six years they had lived 
in this heathen land, and tried in every way possible to 
teach the Burmese of Christ. In their home life, in their 
love for each other, in their unselfish service for these 
natives during the periodic epidemics—due to ignorance 
and lack of sanitation—they had lived Jesus. The seed 
had been watered by the tears of agony, and had been 
bathed in the sacrifice of their firstborn son. “God gave 
‘the increase”’ of converted souls in June of 1819. 

Persecution immediately became more acute. The gov- 
ernment cared very little for these foreigners with their 
new religion. If they were foolish enough to come over 
and preach, that was their business; but when they per- 
suaded the people to leave the religion of their fathers, 
Buddhism, for this new religion, that was too much. 
Judson and his new missionary colleague, Colman, set off 
for Ava, leaving their wives in Rangoon. 

Constantly did Ann and Mrs. Colman pray that this 
mission might be successful. When, at the end of two 
months, the men returned and announced the complete 
failure of securing religious toleration, gloom seemed 
to settle over the whole mission. What should they do? 
Better to move to territory under the English flag than 
to permit the ruthless destruction of all their work by 
the violent opposition of the government and the con- 
tinual petty annoyances of the people. 

Mrs. Judson’s heart was heavy these days. Surely God 
had directed them, had blessed them; and if it was his 


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Ann Judson 


will that the mission should be moved, he would reveal 
it to them. How plain became his leadership. Seven 
heathen were born again by the Spirit of God within five 
months. They were baptized and joined the church in 
the face of severe persecution. ‘“ He maketh the wrath 
of men to please him.” God was holding his ambassadors 
in Burma by permitting them to see some of the fruit- 
age of their labors. 


Ann’s Only Visit to the United States 


The time had come now for the severest trial of her 
life. Mrs. Judson must leave her husband and be gone 
for two years. The precarious condition of her health 
made it imperative that she should go to America. She ~ 
would see her parents again after ten years of separation. 
She could tell the folks at home about the Burmese mis- 
sion, but she must leave him with whom she had traveled 
so far, for whom she had made a home, and to whom she 
had given her love. They journeyed together to Calcutta, 
where Judson saw her safely embarked on an English 
vessel, occupying a cabin with three children. So de- 
lighted was the father of the children to have Mrs. Judson 
in the cabin that he paid her fare to Liverpool. 

Behind her was her home in Rangoon, around her 
the waters of the mighty ocean, above her the heavens 
of God. The Word of God, her inseparable companion, 
was on the table at her side. Ahead of her was home, 
mother, friends, and America. As her eyes closed her 
mind wandered to the land of the tropics and to the little 
home, to the desk of her scholar husband, and to the 
little grave in the garden. Yes, she would pay a visit 
to her folks in America, but that would be only a visit, 


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and then soon she would go back home, her real home in 
far-off Burma. 

Mrs. Judson was most graciously welcomed in London. 
She was entertained by Mr. Joseph Butterworth, a mem- 
ber of Parliament. He was a Christian gentleman, to 
whom she afterward wrote a series of letters describing 
the founding of the Burmese mission. Many were the 
requests that she go to Scotland and tell her story. She 
gladly consented. Everywhere she went the people were 
struck with her beauty, and impressed with the sincerity 
of her faith and the wonder of her courage. 

America was calling, so she embarked and arrived there 
on September 25, 1822, ten years and a half since the 
time of her departure. Mother’s arms encircled her. 
Father’s eyes filled with joy as he watched his youngest 
daughter. Sisters welcomed her as one who had returned 
from the dead. The old Hasseltine home became the 
Mecca of the village and the whole countryside. Amer- 
ica’s first woman missionary had returned to tell her 
story. 

Ann had come home to rest. During a part of the jour- 
ney she had been compelled to keep to her cabin because 
of her weakness. Ceaseless activity was her lot. Morning,. 
noon, and night folks came to see her and talk with her. 
She enthused them all over Burma. It was too much. 
The sorrow of separation from her husband, mingled 
with the joy of reunion with the home folks so disturbed 
her nervous system that she could not sleep. Added to 
this breaking down of her nerves, was the rigor of a New 
England winter. Many a year she had spent in the 
tropics, and her blood had become thin. She had no re- 
sistance to cold, and she felt it intensely. She was in a 


[ 128 ] 





ANN HASSELTINE JUDSON 


ce 


illing Sacrifi 


A W 





Ann Judson 


worse condition now than when she had left India, and 
something must be done at once. 

Home folks must be left, and health must be sought. 
She left in November for Baltimore, Maryland. In that 
city lived Dr. Elnathan Judson, a brother of her husband. 
Due to his acquaintance and standing in the community 
she had the best of care by the most eminent surgeons 
of the city. The winter months wore by slowly in this 
strange city, as away from husband and parents she made 
her fight for health. Her body was frail, and the disease 
was deep-seated, but her spirit was buoyant. 

What made her face brighter this morning? What was 
it that made her eyes glow, even her steps were more 
sprightly? What but the joy of spiritual harvest? She 
had sown the gospel seed in Burma. She had prayed, 
labored, and suffered that God might grant a bounteous 
harvest; but it seemed to be delayed in its coming. God 
was trying her patience. Good news had come from her 
beloved. Three Burmese women for whom she had 
labored, on whom she had called, to whom she told many 
times in the chapel the story of Divine love—three women, 
her sisters in Christ, had been converted and baptized. 
The little native church was growing. There is no joy 
on earth and no solace that is comparable to that of being 
the instrument used by the Holy Spirit to lead souls to 
Jesus. 

Spring came in the glory of her resurrection attire. 
Mrs. Judson continued to improve so much that she often 
visited Washington. She attended the meetings of the 
Baptist General Convention in 1823 in that city. The 
charm of her personality, and her complete subjugation 
to the will of God impressed all who met her these days. 


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Yet with it all there was an elusive something which even 
those nearest to her did not fully understand. One hun- 
dred years afterward it was said that that something was 
God’s divine preparation for her final service. 

As summer came on Ann felt able to go again to Brad- 
ford. But only for a short visit. She was going home. 
Mother, father, sisters, and friends all tried to persuade 
her to stay another year in the homeland until her health 
was fully restored, but she was under the direction of a 
higher love and a mightier power. On June 22, 1823, 
she left America with Mr. and Mrs. Wade, bound for 
Burma, her home. 


The New Home in Ava 


Two long weary years had passed since she had left 
her husband. The voyage seemed longer than before, 
though she enjoyed the companionship of the Wades, who 
were going to help in the Burmese mission. By the time 
they reached Rangoon the period of separation had length- 
ened into twenty-six months. Oh the joy of seeing Jud- 
son’s face and hearing from his lips the good tidings! 
He had completed the translation of the New Testament 
into Burmese. He had been given a lot in Ava, the capital 
city of the empire. The future seemed rosy with promise 
as they arrived on January 23, 1824. 

The period of preparation was over. The Judsons 
now entered the time of their suffering. They came with 
great hopes to this city of Ava. Had not the king bid 
them come? Had he not urged Judson to make this city 
his home? They knew not, however, the capriciousness 
of this Oriental despot, at whose words men were killed 
without trial, favorites were banished without warning. 


[ 130 ] 


Ann Judson 


They began work at once. Judson preached in Doctor 
Price’s home across the river. Ann Judson started a 
girls’ school with three pupils in attendance. Their new 
house was erected in the incredibly short time of two 
weeks, and the Judsons moved into the best home that 
they had ever had in Burma. They were now ready for 
their best work. They knew the language and could speak 
it fluently. They had the Scriptures ready to read in 
the native tongue. Persecution, disaster, ignominy, agony, 
and anguish were waiting to attack these servants of 
God. 

On May 23 news was brought to them of the capture 
of Rangoon by the army of Great Britain. War was no 
more a dark cloud on the horizon, but a stern reality. 
What would be the outcome? Judson had a few friends 
at court, but the king had lately displaced them, and now 
Judson was unable to gain audience. Mrs. Judson had 
begun to win her way, but she was still a total stranger 
to most of the government officials. The missionaries, 
however, sought by every means in their power to Jet 
all know that they were not English, but Americans. 
They were forced to realize their danger because they were 
summoned to give a strict accounting of all their activities 
arid interests. The king, however, gave orders that they 
should not be arrested. 

One June day Mrs. Judson was preparing dinner. As 
she looked out of the window she could see the workmen 
busy on her new home. It was to be of brick that it 
might keep out the tropical heat. The river flowed on 
just a short distance away. Everything seemed to be 
peaceful. Her husband was in the next room busy at 
his task of translating the Old Testament. Her heart 


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was filled with joy at the secret that was hers. Suddenly 
the door was rudely entered by a Burmese official, who 
was followed by a group of baser men. “ Where is the 
teacher?” he shouted. Judson stepped forward, and his 
sentence was read. Then without further ceremony he 
was roughly bound. Ann Judson began to protest and 
tried to persuade them not to draw the cords so tight, 
only to have them leer at her. His captors now led 
Judson away to the court-house as Ann watched them 
from her own doorway. 

What would they do? O God, have mercy! They were 
taking him to Let-ma-yoon, the death prison. Would 
she ever see him again? Must the mission of God to the 
people of Burma suffer such a disgraceful defeat? With 
breaking heart she drew to her two of the Burmese girls 
of her school and bolted the door, only to be ordered by 
the guard stationed there to open it at penalty of dire 
punishment. 

The long night crept slowly into morning. Another 
day, but for what? Her husband might be dead by now, 
and she was a prisoner herself. No persuasion that she 
used was sufficient to move these guards. Her every 
move was watched. She could not escape. Hour by hour 
she planned, but all to no avail. Night came again, and 
still nothing had been done for her beloved. 

There was a way out. There must be a way out. Ann 
had never before surrendered, even though confronted 
with mountains of difficulty. She had it. She would 
send a note to the governor of the city and promise him 
a present. She would make no mention of her request. 
Immediately permission was granted for Ann to visit the 
governor. She wasted no time in pretence, once she had 


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gained audience with him. She told him of her plight and 
of her desire to secure the liberation of her husband and 
Doctor Price, missionaries of America. The governor 
was kind but firm. He told her that it was not in his 
power to release the prisoners, but that he would make 
them more comfortable. She then asked and received a 
permit to visit her husband in the prison. 

No one reared in a quiet New England village could 
ever imagine the type of prison used by the Oriental 
despot. No civilized man had ever endured this awful 
place. As Ann Judson left the governor’s home on 
the way to the prison she thought of all that she had 
heard of the prison. She was, however, entirely unpre- 
pared for the terribleness of the place. At sight of her 
comely and immaculate husband in chains and dirty she 
almost fainted. Her heart sent out its agonizing prayer, 
“O God in heaven, help me!”’ No sooner had she over- 
come her horror of the place and had a few words with 
her husband than she was ordered out. 

She left the prison saddened but encouraged, for they 
permitted the missionaries to be placed in an outer en- 
closure. This new hope was soon blasted by another fear. 
The Burmans gave no food to their prisoners. These 
were only kept alive by their friends. How could Mrs. 
Judson keep her husband alive if all her money and 
property were taken away? The order had been issued 
by the king to confiscate all property owned by the mis- 
sionary teachers. Her recourse was to hide her valuables, 
and that none too soon, for the officers came with a large 
retinue of servants to search her home. They treated 
her with the utmost courtesy and consideration. Never 
before or afterward was she so well treated. She pleaded 


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with them several times. She responded to their questions 
with evasive answers, and when they had departed she 
still had much silver, and several valuables that came into 
use during the next few months. 

Judson would have died in prison had it not been for 
his heroic wife. She kept him alive with food that she 
bought or begged. She daily interceded with Ava’s gov- 
ernor in his behalf, which resulted in several kindnesses. 
She sought every official of the nation, and of the city, 
with whom she thought that she had any influence, and 
by presents, by letters, by visitations, by entreaties, she 
made herself so well known, and her husband’s cause of 
such importance that they dared not kill him. 

Her cause found its strongest advocate in the gov- 
ernor’s wife. This kind woman grew to love Mrs. Jud- 
son, and in many ways proved her kindly interest and 
sympathy. One day Ann came to the governor’s home 
very much disturbed. They had taken all the privileges 
away from the missionaries. They had placed them again 
in the death prison? Why? Was that to be the end? 
But, no, for listen to the governor as he talked to her: 
“Three times have I been ordered by the queen’s brother 
to kill all the white prisoners, but I haven’t done it. And 
now I repeat, though I execute all others, I will never 
execute your husband.” 

Her visits to the prison ceased for awhile. This time 
not through orders of the jailer; not because of persecu- 
tion; not through fear. Ann walked the streets of Ava 
in daylight or darkness—whenever it was necessary. She 
was shielded from harm by “the angel of his presence.” 
Mary Elizabeth Judson was born in January of 1825. 
When but twenty days old, Mrs. Judson took her to the 


[ 134 ] 


Ann Judson 





prison that her father might hold her in his arms. Judson 
wrote many stanzas of this experience. One of them is: 


Sleep, darling infant, sleep ; 

Blest that thou canst not know 

The pangs that rend thy parents’ hearts, 
The keenness of their woe. 


The heroism of Mrs. Judson on these days rose to won- 
drous heights. With no thought of self, with no con- 
sideration of the price she paid, she served every minute 
of every day that the suffering of her husband might be 
assuaged, and that relief might come. She was paying 
the supreme sacrifice for the God she loved above every 
one else. 

What was meant by the strange summons of the gov- 
ernor? She was somewhat worried as she hastened from 
the prison to the governor’s home. He greeted her casu- 
ally and was about to embark upon a discussion of Amer- 
ican customs and institutions when he was interrupted 
by the entrance of a messenger. “ The white prisoners 
have all been taken away,” he shouted. Mrs. Judson 
dashed out into the street eyes blinded with tears. She 
asked every one she met if they had seen the prisoners. 
She ran up and down the streets like a distracted person. 
Finally, she learned that they had been seen to go toward 
the village of Annarapoora. 


Ann Follows Adoniram to Oungpenla 


Against the judgment of all her friends Mrs. Judson 
set out to find them. She took her Bengalese servant, her 
two Burmese girls, and her darling baby. After a journey 
of physical torture, and mental agony as to the fate of 


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her husband she found him and his fellow prisoners in 
an old shack of a prison. The jailer permitted her to use 
one of the rooms in his home for her abiding-place. It 
was dirty. It was a granary. But God be praised, it 
was near her husband, and he was alive. : 

Better was this prison than the other. Yet the fore- 
boding of disaster was ever in the air. They had been 
sent here to die. ‘ They will burn us”’ rang in the minds 
of the prisoners as they recalled what had been told them 
of their fate when they reached Oungpenla. The king 
had known that the execution of the white prisoners in 
Ava would not meet with approval, and therefore he had 
them removed to this place where they could very easily 
be executed without creating much comment. 

Added to this danger was that of smallpox. It had 
broken out, and the first person to be taken sick was one 
of her Burmese girls. Mrs. Judson immediately became 
the nurse, the doctor for all the other children, and for 
her husband. 

At whatever sacrifice his life must be saved. Ann also 
found it difficult to secure enough food, so she decided 
to make a trip to Ava for medicine and food. She went 
to their home in Ava and was taken sick. She had barely 
enough strength to return. When she reached the little 
room she called home, she fell down on a mat and there 
she stayed for nine weeks. 

Mrs. Judson’s physical strength was failing under the 
tremendous task at which it had been set. Worn out 
with work and worry, with lack of proper food, with an 
insidious tropical disease; worn out with the care of her 
baby girl, Mrs. Judson succumbed and was unable to do 
anything for a while. } 


[ 136 ] 


Ann Judson 


What will Mr. Judson do? Most of all, what will 
become of the little darling? Ann lay on the floor helpless 
as the cries of her daughter became louder. She sought 
solace in God. He alone could help. Judson was given 
special permission to go out of prison and to beg food 
for himself and child. They could not—those Burmans— 
refuse this earnest, sad, white-faced man who pleaded 
- for food for his pale child. Ann on her mat of suffering 
lifted her heart in’praise to God for his mercies. 

The army of Great Britain was winning all the battles. - 
Burma must now seek terms of peace. With the release 
of her husband came the word of command for him to go 
into service for the government. Ann and the baby 
Mary were left in the home in Ava, while Judson was 
taken off as an interpreter. His wishes or desires were 
not consulted, but between jailers he was marched and 
was given his orders. 

The long months of imprisonment were over. The 
armies of Great Britain would soon march in triumph 
over the land. Religious persecution would end. So 
thought Mrs. Judson as she sat in her home in Ava. She 
felt sure that they were almost over the roughest part of 
the journey, and that ahead of them lay a smooth way. 
Soon they would be able to go ahead and preach Christ 
in this country of Burma unmolested. 


Ann Smitten with Spotted Fever 


One day a Burmese woman came to the door aad 
offered to nurse her little baby. Ann gladly accepted the 
offer. The same day Mrs. Judson came down with spotted 
fever. It attacked the weakened body of its victim with 
much force. So rapid was its course that Mrs. Judson 


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lost her reason, and folks around thought she was dead. 
At this most critical juncture Doctor Price arrived at 
her home. She had saved his life more than once while 
he was in the death prison. Now that he had been re- 
leased, it was his joy to save Mrs. Judson’s life. He 
took full charge of the case, and prescribed remedies that 
he was sure would bring relief and health. 

As she was slowly regaining her health word was - 
brought to her that Judson was in Ava, but was going to 
be sent back to Oungpenla. She immediately sent Moung 
Ing with a note to her friend the governor. The governor 
at once sent word to the higher officials that he would 
go security for Judson if they would release him. He 
had kept him from being killed during the months of im- 
prisonment; and he now showed his friendship in pro- 
curing Judson’s freedom. 

Mrs. Judson lay across the bed in a very weakened 
condition. The fever had run its course and had sapped 
every ounce of energy. She was so thin she was almost 
ethereal. The clothing she wore was dirty. The house 
was untidy. Her poor:sickly, puny baby lay in the lap 
of her Burmese nurse in the room outside. Everything 
around her spoke of neglect and physical agony. But 
who was that who kept looking into her eyes? ‘“ Adoni- 
tam!’ 

Mr. and Mrs. Judson with their baby embarked for 
Rangoon. They were stopped for two weeks and royally 
entertained by Sir Archibald Campbell, the Commander- 
in-Chief of the English armies in India, and his staff. 
These men had heard of the heroism of these soldiers of 
the Cross, and they sought in every way to show them 
their regard. A great banquet was given with the staft 


[ 138 ] 


Ann Judson 





officers of the English army and the Burmese commis- 
sioners in attendance. Mrs. Judson went to this feast 
on the arm of Sir Campbell as the real guest of honor. 


The Home in Amherst 


The Judsons were anxious to return to Rangoon and 
to discover the fate of their little church. For over two 
years they had been gone, and neither the churches in 
America nor the one in Rangoon had known their fate. 
They rejoiced, therefore, to be able to return to Rangoon 
in the spring of 1826. They found the mission house still 
standing, but the church-members had scattered in terror 
at the beginning of the war. Four gathered to welcome 
them. When it was decided to move the mission to 
Amherst, under the British flag, these four men accom- 
panied them. Here at Amherst the Judsons began a new 
mission on July 2, 1826. 

They had no sooner become established in a government 
house than Judson was sought after to go to Ava with 
an embassy of the English Government to arrange a com- 
mercial treaty. He had no desire to return to the scene 
of his suffering or to leave Ann, but when Mr. Crawford, 
the head of the embassy, told him they would seek to 
have a clause regarding religious liberty inserted, he con- 
sented to go. They knelt in their home together and 
kissed their good-by, little realizing it was the final one 
of earth. 

Mrs. Judson with Moung Ing set to work and had two 
schoolhouses built and a home into which she moved early 
in September. She gathered a group of ten ehildren to- 
gether and gave them to the care of Moung Ing to teach. 
She hoped to gather girls in her school. Meanwhile, 


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every Sunday she taught the native Christians the un- 
searchable riches of Christ. 

The latter part of September Ann Judson was attacked 
with a tropical fever. An English physician was sum- 
moned, and he remained ever-watchful, and ever-thought- 
ful in trying to relieve the suffering. All the care possible 
was given; but Ann Judson, only thirty-seven years old, 
died in Amherst, October 24, 1826. 

There was no husband present to comfort her last days. 
There was no American missionary to speak words of 
cheer. There were no parents, friends, or loved ones 
from America to give solace in her dying hours! Alone 
in Burma, surrounded by the native Christians, and those 
who loved her, Ann Judson died a willing sacrifice that 
God’s kingdom might come and his will might be done 
in the land that she had learned to call home. 


Ann a Willing Sacrifice 


Ann Hasseltine Judson was a genuine heroine. There 
was no known reserve to her sacrifice. There was no 
known limit to her willingness in service. Regardless 
of wishes of friends and acquaintances, she went to un- 
known lands to carry the gospel of Jesus. Never did she 
draw back from her chosen course. Never did she swerve 
from her path. To the end she followed the gleam, 


O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone; 


And with the morn those angel faces smile, 
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile. 


[ 140 ] 


VI 


WILLIAM KNIBB 


& WNhH —& 


Ni 


OUTLINE. OF CHAPTER: Vi 


. Birth and early years of Knibb. 
. Baptized by Doctor Ryland in 1822 at Bristol. 
. Weds Mary Watkins and leaves England for Jamaica. 


. Beginnings in Jamaica: 


(1) Arrival on February 16, 1825. 

(2) Work as a teacher at Kingston. 

(3) Development of hatred for slavery. 
(4) Pastor at Falmouth in 1830. 


. The struggle against slavery. 


(1) Knibb’s antagonists were the Catholics and the Planters. 

(2) Knibb imprisoned in January of 1832. 

(3) Goes to England in 1832 and presents the matter before 
(a) the Baptist Board, (b) the Baptist Convention, 
(c) Parliament. 

(4) Secures passage of the bill to abolish slavery. 


. Increasing work: 


(1) Building of chapels. 
(2) Establishing of schools. 
(3) Founding of outstations. 


. The day of freedom. 


8. Three other trips to England in 1840, 1842, and 1845. 


9. Ever forward: 


10. 
iB} 


(1) The mission to Africa. 

(2) Self-support for the churches. 

(3) An educated native ministry—Calabar College. 
The passing of Massa Knibb, November 15, 1845. 
The emancipator of Jamaica’s slaves. 


WILLIAM KNIBB 


“When they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall 
speak; for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak. 
For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that 
speaketh in you.”—Matthew 10: 19, 20. 


William Knibb had often thought of going as a mis- 
sionary. As he worked with his brother in the print-shop 
they both felt the urge to go to the foreign field. Year 
after year William helped in the printing of Andrew 
Fuller’s annual report to the Baptist Missionary Society. 
He was constantly thinking of how glad he would be to 
go to India and help Carey. These reports of Secretary 
Fuller were filled with the growth of the Serampore Mis- 
sion. Perhaps, he thought, if the necessary number of 
missionaries was obtained, he could go to India as a 
printer. 

He was under the tutelage of Doctor Ryland, of the 
Broadmead Baptist Church of Pristol, England. This 
old saint of God had baptized William Carey in 1783. 
Now, thirty-nine years later, he immersed William Knibb. 
The sphere of Ryland’s influence became world-wide. 
Jamaica and India were his outposts. 

Knibb, however, continued to work as a printer. He 
felt the urge of God on his soul. He wrote to his 
brother, Thomas, “If it be the will of God that I should 
go, I feel an earnest desire to teach the children of the 
poor Negroes.” He was waiting God’s time. The hand 
of his life’s destiny reached the hour, and he was ready. 
When the news was brought to him that Thomas had 


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died after three months as a missionary in Jamaica, he 
said, “‘ If the Society will accept me, [ll go and take his 
place.” The decision was made. The offer was accepted, 
and William Knibb sailed from England with the last 
words of his mother ringing in his soul, “ Remember, my 
son, I would rather have you perish in the sea, than to 
hear that you have disgraced the cause you go to serve.” 


Birth and Early Years of Knibb 


William Knibb was born on September 7, 1803, at Ket- 
tering in Northamptonshire. He early developed traits 
of character that were afterward shown in his heroic life. 
He was a lively boy and full of pranks. If any of his 
companions or friends seemed to be unjustly injured he 
eagerly took their part. He never hesitated. He did not 
take the time to see the strength of the enemy, but he 
fought with all the power of his body. He wouldn’t 
permit force to take advantage of weakness. This will- 
ingness to take the part of the abused was what finally 
drew him into the battle of his life, the freeing of the 
slaves. 

His home was one of piety. With his brothers and 
sisters he was early taught to read his Bible and pray. 
His mother was a woman of religious convictions, which 
she thoughtfully and prayerfully imparted to her chil- 
dren. The intense devotion that William later showed in 
life was the result of the careful home training that he 
received. 


Baptized by Doctor Ryland 


Both William and Thomas were apprentices in the 
printing-shop of Mr. J. G. Fuller, the son of Andrew 


[ 144 ] 





WILLIAM KNIBB 


Emancipator of Jamaica’s Slaves 





William Knibb 


Fuller. When he moved to Bristol in 1816 they went with 
him. William immediately began teaching a Sunday- 
school class in the Baptist church. He was eager for 
Christian service, and yet he had not joined the church. 
When he realized this situation he hastened to have a 
talk with Doctor Ryland. The result of this conversation 
and of his own thought and study in private was that he 
joined the Baptist church when he was about nineteen 
years old. 

His earnest, consecrated life constantly sought channels 
of service. Thomas Knibb had gone to Jamaica, and Wil- 
liam felt that every opportunity for teaching the Bible 
ought to be eagerly seized. ‘He was glad to go every 
Sunday to teach in a Sunday school two miles away. He 
sought out the neglected people of his own city with a 
passion to bring them to Jesus. He was desirous of going 
to the foreign field. This eager hunger to do more in 
wider, neglected places was recognized. 

His pastor, Doctor Ryland, and Mr. Dyer, the secretary 
of the Baptist Missionary Society, had written to each 
other about the possibility of sending him as a missionary. 
Mr. Dyer thought that the Society ought to send him to 
India, but Doctor Ryland wrote: “ He is a good printer. 
I rather question his capacity for learning a language. 
More suitable for the West Indies.” This opinion had a 
great deal of weight with the committee, when they were 
considering the appointment of a successor to Thomas 
Knibb. The destiny of the black men of Jamaica was 
weighed in the balance as they considered this problem. 
When they appointed William Knibb in August, 1824, to 
go to Jamaica, the plan of God for the freeing of the 
slaves was furthered. 


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Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


Knibb Weds Mary Watkins and Leaves England for 


Jamaica 


Knibb began preparations for his departure. He had 
loved Mary Watkins for many months. She was a con- 
secrated member of the Broadmead Baptist Church. They 
had talked long and.earnestly of the future, and the 
missionary fields of the Baptists. Their lives had been 
sobered by the sudden death of Thomas Knibb, and yet 
there was no hesitation in their decision to go wherever 
God might lead. They were, therefore, married on Octo- 
ber first. With complete surrender to God’s will, and 
with the sweet fellowship of each other’s love, they left 
England’s shores in November, 1824. 

Would they return? Would their lives also be sacri- 
ficed to the cause of missions? Must they also pay the 
supreme price that Thomas had paid to bring the gospel 
to Jamaica? These thoughts raced through their minds 
as their small ship—the same one that had borne Thomas 
to Jamaica—journeyed on. 

They were on their way to the land of loveliness, a 
land of sugar-cane and of warmth, a land of palm trees 
and of tropical foods, a land washed by the ever-restless 
waves of the Atlantic, a land abundantly blessed of God 
with tropical verdure—and yet a land suffering from 
human vice and greed. 

The Jamaica of this time was under the control of the 
Planters. These were white men who owned the land, 
and had their work done by slaves. These black men had 
been brought into Jamaica from Africa when Spain con- 
trolled the island; and when England captured the island 
from Spain she permitted this importation of black men 


[ 146 ] 


William Knibb 





to continue. The planters were very rich, and very power- 
ful, and they opposed in every possible way the teaching 
of religion to these slaves. Once the black men began 
to accept Christ, their living conditions would have to 
improve, many readjustments would have to be made, and 
the enormous profits of the planters would be reduced. 
They were, therefore, hostile to religion. 


Beginnings in Jamaica 


To this land the Knibbs came. They arrived in Kings- 
ton on February 16, 1825. After his first contact with 
slavery, even before he had come to know it in its worst 
form, he wrote to his mother: 


The curse of slavery has, like a pestilence, withered almost 
every moral bloom. It is a child of hell. I feel a burning hatred 
against it. The morals of the slaves are sunk below the brute. It 
is in the immorality of slavery that the chief evil consists. 


The Baptists had been working in the island for eleven 
years. Mr. John Rowe, one of Doctor Ryland’s students, 
had been the first missionary. Others had come since, 
and the island proved to be a fruitful field. William 
Knibb plunged at once into the task which his brother 
had left. He was the teacher at the East Queen Street 
Church. So successful was he that in less than a year 
a new building had to be erected to accommodate two 
hundred and fifty children. 

He was a tireless worker. Day, and night, and Sunday 
he was always busy. It was too much in the tropical 
climate, and he soon had to move on account of a break- 
down in health. He first went to Port Royal near to 
the sea; but that was not enough change of climate, so 


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he went to Ridgeland. Here he took charge of two 
stations for a while. He finally settled in Falmouth 
in 1830, and this city proved to be the best for his 
physical needs. 

During these first years he was constantly being over- 
come by the climate. He took several voyages. In the sum- 
mer of 1828 he visited with the Burchells at Montego Bay. 
He discovered that Rev. Burchell was covering a field 
of seventy miles in his ministry. Knibb had been preach- 
ing almost every Sunday, so now he wrote to the Society 
to ask their permission to give his whole time to the min- 
istry. This was refused, so he went back to his teaching 
at Savanna-la-Mar. His health failed again the next year. 
When the Baptist church at Falmouth called him to be the 
pastor in February, 1830, he gladly accepted. Mr. J. 
Rowe had started the enterprise, but since he had left 
the church had been without a pastor. He settled in a 
month at Falmouth, and called the city “the garden of 
missionary labors.” 


The Struggle Against Slavery 


Meanwhile the planters were becoming very much 
troubled at the growth of missionary work among the 
Negroes. It was especially noticeable on Saturday nights 
and on Sunday. ‘There was much less carousing and 
fewer outbreaks among the slaves. Burchell had received 
a letter from one of the island magistrates. in which was 
written : 


You missionaries have intruded yourselves on this island un- 
solicited and unwelcomed. We have passed a law that you may 
not raise an income here for carrying on your purposes and to 
prevent your further increases among us. 


[ 148 ] 


William Knibb 


On December 22, 1826, the Consolidated Slave Law was 
passed. One of its provisions was, 


That slaves found guilty of preaching and teaching as Anabap- 
tists or otherwise, without a permission from their owner and the 
Quarter Sessions for the parish, shall be punished by whipping 
or imprisonment in the workhouse with hard labor. 


The English Baptists, however, were watching the acts 
of the Jamaica Assembly very carefully. When they 
learned of this new Act, they sent a committee to the 
Secretary of State for the Colonies, urging that the Act 
be disallowed. The English Government listened to the 
Baptist Committee and decided against the Act. It could 
not become a law without the government’s sanction. 
The planters were enraged when they learned of this ad- 
verse decision. Though it was illegal, and contrary to all 
English law, the planters threatened the Negroes. They 
harassed and annoyed the missionaries in every pos- 
sible way, and they fought the progress of the gospel 
among their slaves. | 

It was all to no avail. The words of the old teacher 
Gamaliel are ever true: ‘‘ If this work be of men, it will 
be overthrown; but if it is of God, ye will not be able 
to overthrow it.” The planters by their fierce methods 
were hastening the day of freedom for the blacks. The 
very thing that the planters were seeking to avoid, the 
abolishing of slavery, they were bringing on by their own 
methods of persecution. 

Into this struggle Knibb interjected the whole fervor 
of his being. He had written to his brother, “ Slavery is 
so corrupt, so repugnant to every feeling of right and 
justice, that it must be viewed by God with manifest 


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abhorrence.” He was not directly fighting it, however. 
With courage and conviction, and with determination 
born of his whole-hearted consecration, he preached the 
gospel. No law of men and no fear of punishment could 
keep this Baptist missionary from doing his God-appointed 
task. 

Things were rapidly approaching a crisis. The Negroes, 
naturally excitable, were growing out of the control both 
of the planters and the missionaries. Meetings were 
being held. Negroes were being converted. The gospel 
was having its free course in their lives. They were being 
imprisoned. Slaves were being flogged. The planters 
were determined to put an end to evangelical religion in 
the island. The Negroes remained true. One slave said, 
when his master told him he would be punished, “ Dat 
no good, massa; whip no flogge de word out.” 

Talk of freedom was in the air. Folks were saying 
that the king of England was going to grant freedom 
to the slaves on January 1, 1832. Excitement was every- 
where. The planters, it was said, would prevent this 
freedom. The missionaries were accused of spreading 
the news, and this still more incited the planters against 
them. The missionaries denied all these charges and told 
the slaves that they would not obtain freedom on the day 
named. 

One slave, however, had heard his master say, “ Free- 
dom is coming from England, but I will shoot every black. 
rascal that tries to get it.” This served as an irritant to 
the slaves. They began to organize. Samuel Sharp, a 
slave, yet a man of some intelligence, started to gather 
groups of slaves and to form a secret association with the 
understanding that they would not return to work after 


[ 150 ] 


William Knibb 


the holidays unless they received wages. The governor 
of the island, Lord Belmore, had issued a proclamation, 
urging all civil authorities, including the magistrates, to 
help in the arrest and the conviction of the people who 
were burning the chapels and destroying the mission prop- 
erties. The magistrates, however, were planters them- 
selves and were not willing to enforce this order. Even 
at the cost of being charged with treason they added to 
the governor’s order, “ Whoever gives information re- 
specting the above shall entitle himself to be tarred and 
feathered.” 

Nothing the missionaries could do had any effect on 
the slaves. They were sure that the king would grant 
them freedom and that their owners would try to keep 
them from securing it. The only way that they could 
obtain this freedom, therefore, was to fight for it. MKnibb 
argued and pleaded with them. Says R. A. Knight, 1 in his 
book on “ William Knibb”’: 


On Sunday December 25, 1831, he addressed the members of 
the church, contradicting the report that “ Free Paper ” had arrived, 
and strenuously exhorted them to return quietly to their work after 
Christmas. Nothing that the missionary did or said at the time 
could disabuse the slaves’ minds. 


In fact, the very people for whom the missionaries were 
giving their lives accused them of being friendly with the 
planters by wanting them to remain as slaves. 

The war party among the Negroes had gained the 
ascendency. They made public a statement that Knibb 
had been bribed by the planters, and to show their hatred 
of him and the opinions that he had expressed they set 
fire to the new chapel at St. James. No white man, 


[151] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


whether owner or missionary, was going to keep them 
from the freedom promised to them. 

This attitude of the Negroes made conditions very 
serious for the missionaries. The planters hated them 
and were trying to drive them out of the island. They 
sought in every possible way to implicate the mission- 
aries, and especially Knibb, who was the natural leader 
of this group. They desired to prove that the uprising 
of the slaves was due to the urging of the missionaries. 
On the other hand, the slaves themselves had become 
bitter toward these Baptist preachers, believing that they 
were in the employ of the planters. 

Knibb and his fellow workers were being summoned 
daily to the court-house to state reasons why they should 
not be arrested. The magistrates were persistent in their 
determination to drive these troublesome preachers from 
the island. There came a day, finally, when the minis- 
ters were appointed to do guard duty. This was con- 
trary to all their purposes, and yet they obeyed. On 
January 3, 1832, Knibb, Nicholls, Whitehorne, and Abbott 
were arrested. No charge was preferred against them, 
but they were treated as convicted criminals. Knibb in 
writing of the arrest said, “My captor paraded before 
me in all the pomp of petty power, with a drawn sword.” 

No permission was given to see their wives, but the 
prisoners were hustled into an open boat. For seven 
hours they were out in the broiling tropic sun on the way 
to Montego Bay. It was a terrible experience, but only 
a beginning of a period of excruciating suffering. As 
soon as they had landed they were brought to the court- 
house, being marched between guards, and all sorts of 
abuse being heaped upon them. Knibb wrote, ‘“ Twice 


[ 152 ] 


William Knibb 





was the bayonet pointed at my breast.” They were told 
by an officer of the guard that he had received orders to 
place them in custody. That was the extent of their 
enlightenment. Knibb feeling weak, due to his recent 
sickness, and to the long exposure to the rays of the sun, 
asked permission to lie down. “ No, you rascal,” he was 
answered, “if you attempt to move an inch, I[’ll thrust 
a bayonet through you.” 

Relief arrived about eleven o'clock that night. Mr. 
Roby knew Whitehorne, and hearing of his plight he came 
to the court-house. The sorry condition of the other 
missionaries affected him. He pleaded their case, there- 
fore, more from a love of justice than any other cause. 
Meanwhile their wives had come to Montego Bay by land, 
and they were permitted to talk for a short time with 
their husbands. Thanksgiving was rendered to God that 
he had thus far protected their lives. 

Seven long weeks dragged wearily on before Knibb 
was freed. All sorts of charges of sedition and treason- 
able action against the government were brought against 
him, but they had no foundation. He suffered much 
torment of soul during this period. He wrote, “ I mourn 
over my sins and long to be more active in the service of 
God.” It pained him to think of the sorrow and heart- 
aches of the blacks who were Christians, and that he was 
unable to help them. 

Persecution had begun in earnest against the Baptist 
and Methodist missionaries, and against all the slaves who 
allied themselves with these faiths. Chapels were burned 
and mission property was ruthlessly destroyed. Planters 
and members of the Church of England combined to drive 
evangelical religion from the island. Mrs. John J. Smith, 


[ 153 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


in her life of “ William Knibb,” says: “In the list of 
depredators were eleven magistrates and fourteen army 
and naval officers.” It was a determined struggle between 
the plutocracy of the planters and the poverty of the 
slaves; between the ecclesiastical system of England and 
the missionary evangel of these servants of God. 

Something had to be done. Even after the release of 
Knibb affairs grew worse. He was hounded as a criminal. 
He dared not go home, but went to the house of Elizabeth 
Dunn, a colored member of the church. He was com- 
pelled to stay within doors. Night after night a rabble 
mob, incited by the planters, demanded that he show him- 
self that they might tar and feather him. The mob finally 
attacked the house, and in the darkness of the midnight 
hour Knibb was forced to make his escape. 

Again an edict was issued for his arrest by the attorney- 
general. Gardener and he surrendered themselves to the 
state. The whites were enraged to think that these men 
had escaped. They sought every conceivable way to trap 
Knibb into an admission of some kind. When the case 
against Gardener broke down for the lack of evidence, 
Knibb was dismissed without trial. This did not quiet 
his persecutors. Twenty of them had taken an oath that 
they would put:him to death. Knibb, accepting the advice 
of his friend, went to another part of the island, hoping 
that the anger of the mob would cool. 

A crisis of tremendous import had been reached. If 
the missionaries were going to stay in the island, then 
slavery would have to be abolished. The religion of 
Christ and human slavery had been found to be incom- 
patible. The clash of the planters’ greed and the mis- 
sionaries’ heroic service was producing a situation that 


[ 154 | 


William Knibb 


could not continue. Some one must go as the ambassador 
of the missionaries and present their cause before the 
English rulers and the Baptist Society. 

The missionaries chose the most hated man on the 
island as their spokesman. Knibb had suffered the most. 
Knibb had been the most persecuted. Knibb had a great 
gift of speech. He must go to plead for God’s work in 
Jamaica. Without any hesitation, therefore, Knibb and 
his family sailed for England on April 26, 1832. During 
their seven years in Jamaica Mr. and Mrs. Knibb had 
enjoyed each other’s fellowship. They had rejoiced to- 
gether. They had sorrowed together. William and Mary 
brightened their home in the first years. Mary, named 
after her mother, died and was buried on Jamaica’s soil 
near her uncle Thomas. Their own flesh and blood was 
under the soil of this tropical island—child and man, 
two lives given that Christianity might not perish in 
Jamaica. 

They were returning to England on a great mission. 
As they sailed toward the home shore Knibb said: “I 
will have slavery down. I will never rest day or night 
till I see it destroyed root and branch.” Knibb, however, 
was troubled. How would he be received by the Foreign 
Board? How did the English Baptists regard slavery? 
How could he carry on, alone and unaided, the struggle 
for freedom? 

Those were momentous days! England was to be 
thrilled by the voice of this man. Men were to be stirred 
to the very depths of their being as the horrors of human 
slavery were disclosed. The lowly Baptist missionary 
was to rise out of his obscurity to become an adviser of 
Great Britain’s foreign secretary. 


[ 155 ] 


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Knibb first appeared before a committee of the Board. 
As they discussed the work in Jamaica it was apparent 
that the committee did not want to inject itself into the 
debate on slavery. There was a feeling on the part of the 
various Boards that if they sought to gain freedom for 
the Negroes, the outcome would only be the expulsion 
of their work from the island. Knibb said to the com- 
mittee : 


I and my family are entirely dependent on the Baptist Mis- 
sionary Society. But if it be necessary I will take them by the 
hand and walk barefoot through the kingdom; I will make known 
to the Christians of England what their brethren in Jamaica are 
suffering. 


On the twenty-first of June occurred the annual meet- 
ing of the Baptist Missionary Society. A larger crowd 
than usual had gathered to hear the reports from the 
foreign fields. It had been told out of the committee 
that Knibb wanted the Society to plead for freedom of 
the slaves. It had also been reported that he had been 
cautioned concerning the whole matter. The people were 
very curious as to what this intrepid man would do. 
When Knibb stood up a tenseness seized the vast audience. 
In burning eloquence he pictured the terrible atrocities 
practised on the Negroes by the planters. He told of the 
opposition to real Christianity, of the burning of the 
chapels, and of the determined purpose to drive the mis- 
sionaries from the island. He felt that the only recourse, 
the only hope, was the abolishment of slavery. He was 
going beyond the time given for his speech, and also 
beyond the boundary suggested by the committee. The 
secretary, Mr. Dyer, pulled his coat. This warning was 


[ 156 ] 


William Knibb 





the match that ignited the blaze in Knibb’s heart. He 
shouted, in words that have since given him the name 
“The man who could not be silent”: 


Whatever may be the consequences I will speak. At the risk of 
my connection with the Society and all I love dear, I will avow 
this, and if the friends of the missions will not hear me, I will 
turn and tell it to my God, nor will I desist till this the greatest ~ 
of curses—slavery—is removed and “ Glory to God in the highest ” 
is inscribed on the British flag. 


The Christian preacher had made his pronouncement. 
The institution of slavery must be entirely destroyed. 
The Christian forces of the empire were aroused by the 
outspoken appeal of Knibb. Even Dyer was now thor- 
oughly converted to this policy, for he said: “ Either 
Christianity or slavery must fall. We are laying the axe 
to the root of the tree, and we will not cease to do so till 
its fall be accomplished.” Everywhere Knibb was in 
demand as a speaker. As he went up and down the 
empire Christian sentiment grew stronger and the de- 
mands on Parliament more insistent for the freedom of 
the Negroes. | 

Public sentiment was running high for emancipation. 
Laws, however, must be enacted and enforced against 
the strong opposition of the planters and their sympa- 
thizers. A day of prayer was set by the Christian forces. 
On April 20, 1833, the workers gathered to petition 
Jehovah for his blessing on their enterprise. Things 
were rapidly developing. Knibb was called before com- 
mittees of the House of Commons and the House of 
Lords to testify under oath. In writing of this one writer 
says, “ His story was always the same, though the cross- 
examination lasted for six days.” 


[ 157] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


Knibb went everywhere these days, arousing the con- 
science of the nation. His journeys took him throughout 
Ireland, Scotland, and England. He so fired the people 
with the stories of the indignities and wrongs heaped on 
the Negroes that it seemed to Parliament that all of 
England was asking for freedom of the Negroes. He 
had ‘started the campaign, and he stayed in England until 
it was brought to a successful issue. On August 28, 1833, 
the magna charta of Negro liberty for Jamaica passed 
the House of Lords, the House of Commons, gained royal 
consent and became the law of the land. No wonder that 
when Knibb returned to Jamaica the Negroes greeted 
him with rejoicing, saying: “ Him come! Him come, for 
true! King Knibb! Him fight de battle—him win de 
crown. God bless you, massa, for all de good you do 
for us.” 

Some adjustments had to be made. Twenty million 
pounds was given to the planters by the government ; 
a little over twelve thousand pounds the government 
granted to the Baptists for the chapels destroyed and the 
mission property damaged in the island. The Act for the 
Abolition of Slavery was not to go into effect until 
August 1, 1834. 

It was with happy heart that Knibb and his family 
returned to Jamaica. They had been gone for two years 
and a half. When they left the island was still in the 
steel grip of slavery. When they returned freedom was 
trying out her new wings. The struggle to carry into 
effect the provisions of the new law now engrossed all 
of Knibb’s time. The planters attempted to thwart him 
at every turn. They looked upon him as their arch- 
enemy and as the man who was determined to despoil 


[ 158 ] 


William Knibb 





them of their goods. This time, however, Knibb had the 
backing of the law of England. 


Increasing Work 


His first immediate missionary task was the rebuilding 
of the chapels. He had brought back with him about 
twenty-five thousand pounds for this purpose. Part of 
the allowance was from the government, and part the 
gift from the English Baptists. He had erected in Fal- 
mouth, where he was still pastor, a chapel to seat two 
thousand people. The work here had been immensely 
blessed of the Lord. There were over one thousand 
members, and he was baptizing every Sunday. It was 
in Falmouth where the Negroes had celebrated the day of 
their emancipation. They had quietly gathered by the 
hundreds—though Knibb was still in England—and on 
August first had given thanks to God for his mercies. 
It was a great delight, therefore, to dedicate the new 
chapel here in April of 1837. 

His second concern was the establishing of spheres of 
missionary influence to be directly under the charge of 
the Falmouth church. He began work in Refuge and 
Waldensia at once. He was eager that each one of these 
places should develop into an independent work. He 
believed that a church should always have a definite field 
of missionary endeavor. 

Knibb’s third task was the starting and the maintaining 
of schools for the poor illiterate Negroes. He _ believed 
very strongly in the educational function of the church. 
It displeased him very much that the churches at home 
did not send more funds so that schools could be estab- 
lished in every field where the chapels and the outstations 


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were located. He was a true seer, and a true believer 
in a native ministry. He fully realized that the evan- 
gelization of the Negroes of the island must be wrought 
by the Negroes themselves.- To that end he early began, 
and always maintained a belief in, Christian education of 
the highest type. 

The planters, the believers in ritualistic religion, and 
the civil magistrates were still opposing Knibb, and fight- 
ing the enforcement of the Act of Abolition. The Jamaica 
Assembly had passed a new apprentice law. This law 
worked untold hardship on the Negroes. In writing of it 
Knibb said: 


This cursed apprentice system is working terrible harm. I think 
nearly forty young men and women pass my door every morning 
in chains. Not one school is yet established, but abominable cells 
are being erected all over the island. Magistrates are having these 
poor Negroes beaten unmercifully. 


The Day of Freedom 


The day of ultimate freedom was fast approaching. 
Joseph Struge and Thomas Harvey were sent out from 
England to see that the Act of Emancipation was being 
carried out. Knibb persuaded all of his members to give 
up their apprentice slaves. The men England had sent 
out returned, and due to their report the term of appren- 
ticeship was shortened to end August first. 

On July 31, 1838, the Negroes gathered in the various 
houses of worship to await the striking of the hour of 
their deliverance. Knibb’s heart was both heavy and 
glad. A few months previous his firstborn son, William, 
had died. The lad was but twelve years old, and his 
father had looked forward to his growth and development 


[ 160 ] 


William Knibb 


with joy. Now, he was dead, another sacrifice that the 
Negroes, whom he had grown to love so much, might be 
free. 

Service began at eleven o'clock that night. As the 
minutes passed the vast company became quieter. A 
spiritual presence seemed to abide in the chapel. Devo- 
tion, consecration, and thanksgiving were offered to God. 
Finally, Knibb arose, and said, as he pointed to the clock, 
“The hour is at hand, the monster is dying.” Then the 
clock began to strike the hour of twelve midnight. He 
said, “The monster is dead, the Negro is free.’ The 
well-springs of joy were loosed. As one man they rose 
and shouted their gladness. They were free! free!! 
free!!! They sang, 


Restored the Negro’s long-lost rights, 
How softened is his lot, 

Now sacred heart-born dear delights 
Shall bless his humble cot. 


Tears of joy coursed down their faces. Knibb look- 
ing on said, “ Oh had I my boy, my slave-hating boy, my 
lovely boy here.” He went hurriedly out of the chapel 
and over to his home, which was near-by. When he came 
back he held up in his arms his new baby boy, and the 
crowd cheered and cheered. 

Early in the morning of the first of August they gath- 
ered around a grave that had just been dug. In a coffin 
were the emblems of slavery. They had placed a chain, 
handcuffs, iron collars, and a whip in this coffin—the 
hated emblems of their slavery. Lowering the coffin 
into the ground, and filling up the hole they placed above 
it the flag of Great Britain. Then they sang, 


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Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





Now slavery, we lay thy. vile form in the dust, 
And buried forever there let it remain, 

And rotted, and covered with infamy’s rust, 
Be every man-whip, and fetter, and chain. 


Freedom brought not only glorious opportunities, but 
also immense responsibilities. Reconstruction among these 
thousands of ignorant, superstitious, and emotional peo- 
ple was a tremendous task. The wage problem was the 
biggest of all. The planters desired to hire the Negroes 
at a salary too small for them to live on, and the Negroes 
were holding out, and not working, demanding too high 
wages. Readjustment had to be made, but how? Fair 
wages on the part of the planters would have settled all 
difficulties, and would have established friendly relations. 
These men had been so in the habit of reaping such exor- 
bitant profits that they were unwilling to pay a decent 
salary. Knibb, therefore, called public meetings to dis- 
cuss this matter and suggested that the Negroes work for 
one shilling a day with house and grounds provided. 
The planters were not willing to surrender to these terms 
without a struggle. They sought by coercion and threats 
to make the Negro work for less. Their constant friend 
stood right beside them and labored for their betterment. 
Perceiving the intention of these former slave-holders 
was to eject the Negroes from their homes, Knibb and 
his fellow missionaries bought tracts of land ‘for settle- 
ment. These tracts were divided and resold to the 
Negroes. These proved to be of inestimable value to the 
black men. Today on the island many traces of these lots 
can be found in the owned homesteads of the colored 
people. 

The job that Knibb had assumed was of stupendous 


[ 162 ] 


William Knibb 


size. He was the most hated man on the island, and the 
most loved. One day as he was returning from an out- 
station he was met by a band of armed men who told 
him that they had come out to protect him from his 
enemies who were threatening his life. Of this he wrote, 
“A sum of money had been raised by two magistrates 
to assassinate me.” He went bravely on with his task. 
He said, 


I have the superintendency of sixteen thousand persons, eight 
teachers, seventy people conducting prayer-meetings in as many 
different places, thirty deacons, and twenty Sunday-school teachers. 


Three Other Trips to England 


In February, 1840, Knibb, his family, and two colored 
men went to England. Partly because of the decline of 
his health, partly due to the call he had received to attend 
the anti-slavery convention in London, but mostly be- 
cause of the projected mission to Africa, did he decide 
to make the trip. He accomplished all these tasks during 
his short sojourn in the homeland. He cleared up all the 
criticism that had been made of him and his methods of 
activity, and he returned to the island in January of 1841. 

The West Coast of Africa was to be explored, as a 
result of Knibb’s urging. Doctor Prince and Rev. J. 
Clarke were to go in the name of the English Baptists 
and bring back a report. Fifteen missionaries were com- 
missioned by the Society, and they returned with Knibb 
to help work among the twenty-four thousand Baptist 
church-members. He had also an opportunity to give 
slavery another blow by showing some of the implements 
of torture used on the slaves. In London, when speaking 
of slavery, he said, 


[ 163 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


How I desire that a blow may be aimed against American 
slavery, and that it may fall, all bloody as it is, before the Cross 
of the Redeemer. ’ 


On March 23, 1842, he started on his third trip to En- 
gland. He and his work were being severely criticised, and 
it seemed very essential to those on the field that Knibb 
should go and have an understanding with the Board. 
Other denominations were attacking the Baptist work 
because of their success. They claimed that the Baptist 
missionaries were too lax in their reception of members; 
and they were not careful enough in the appointment of 
leaders. The planters had spread evil reports concerning 
Knibb himself. Everything possible was done by his 
enemies, and those who were jealous of his success, to 
keep him from attaining his purpose. 

God continued to protect Knibb from his persecutors. 
At the meeting of the Committee, where he defended his 
course of action, he and his brethren were thoroughly 
vindicated. They passed this resolution: 

That this meeting unite in thanksgiving to the Father of 
Mercies for having permitted our beloved brother, William Knibb, 
to revisit his native shores. That we express our unreserved 
confidence in him and in the band of missionary brethren. 

A great jubilee meeting was held that year at Kettering, 
the birthplace of Baptist foreign missions. Knibb was 
the hero of the hour at this meeting. He was the man 
to whom they looked. They unanimously passed resolu- 
tions commending him and his brethren. They also gave 
him a silver medal in honor of the occasion. He went 
back to Jamaica accompanied by some more helpers, much 
heartened that the problems of administration had been 
so well solved. 


[ 164 ] 


William Knibb 


Mr. and Mrs. Knibb left their two daughters in En- 
gland. They wanted them to have the advantage of Chris- 
tian civilization and culture. They had buried five of 
their children in Jamaica, and yet when they wrote to 
these two girls, it was always with the hope that God 
-would send them as missionaries to this tropical island. 
The price required of them was not too large; for they 
gladly dedicated their all to God. 

They decided in August of 1842 to have a big meeting 
on the island. This meeting was to be sort of an echo 
meeting of the jubilee meetings ; and so Knibb was placed 
in charge. A great gathering of over twelve thousand 
people was held for three days, with much blessing and 
spiritual uplift to all the churches. Deep thankfulness 
was in everybody’s heart for the goodness of God and for 
the large number of baptisms. No sooner had the Knibbs 
returned to their home than the family was again smitten, 
and their fifth and only surviving son—the boy he had 
held in his arms on that memorable night—died. The 
shadows were long, and the days were heavy; especially 
so when his wife embarked on an ocean voyage for her 
health, leaving him all alone. 

Problems both large and small vexed this servant of 
God. Yet with the firm conviction of duty he sought to 
solve them according to God’s standard of righteousness. 
His statesmanlike mind looked upon these duties clearly, 
and eagerly sought their solution. One was the invitation 
to go to America, and speak under the auspices of the 
Anti-Slavery Society. He wrote of this opportunity, 
“Should I go to America, and strike a blow at that 
monster slavery, I shall rejoice.” 

Another perplexing difficulty was the financial relation- 


[ 165 ] 


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ship of the separate Baptist churches in Jamaica to the 
Missionary Society. On this subject Knibb wrote: “ They 
will soon support their pastors; if mine will not, I will 
not remain with them.” He did not believe in pauperizing 
the Jamaican Baptists but in developing independence. 
He therefore suggested and urged in 1842 that the Society. 
be relieved of all financial obligations and that it should 
continue only in the position of a directing force. He 
carried this motion, though many thought it was prema- 
ture. 


Ever Forward 


A mission to Africa was one of the objectives nearest 
to his heart. He felt that the relinquishing of the de- 
mands in Jamaica would give the Society money for the 
promotion of missionary work in Africa. It was with 
much rejoicing, therefore, that the Baptist Negroes of the 
island saw the ship bound for Africa come into the harbor. 
On July 19, 1843, the vessel left Falmouth for Africa’s 
West Coast with two missionaries from England and 
several of Knibb’s converted Negroes going as teachers 
to the land of their fathers. 

The product that Knibb pushed with all of his power 
these days was that of an educated native ministry. In 
1842 the committee of the Board had agreed to the 
purchase of some land at Calabar and to the fitting up 
of the premises “for a theological institution of native 
men for the Jamaican and African ministry.” In Doctor 
Knight’s book on “ William Knibb,” he says: 


Calabar is the first institution of its kind in the world where 
native men are trained to be ministers of the gospel. The venture 
has proved a wonderful success. 


[ 166 ] 


William Knibb 


Two droughts and a fall in the price of sugar brought 
on a very severe crisis in 1844. Folks were unable to 
pay their bills. Large amounts of money had been bor- 
rowed to erect chapels and school buildings. Payments 
were being pressed by the bankers. Knibb himself had 
stood security, and now he wrote, 


I never was so disheartened by oppression in my whole mission- 
ary life. I must close my schools—and this will break my heart, 
for they are the life of the mission. 


His spirit, which was usually buoyant, became sad. 
Finally, commissioned by his fellow missionaries, he sailed 
for England in March of 1845. 

He was heartily welcomed by his brethren, who imme- 
diately voted six thousand pounds for relief. He then 
toured the kingdom, in the interest of his mission, and 
by the fire of his eloquence and his personal likeableness 
he helped the Board raise the money it had given. When 
he was leaving he said, “ The kindness that I have received 
has been far beyond my merits.” 

He returned to Falmouth on August 1, 1845, and threw 
himself into the work with a great deal of his old vigor. 
His children were now all with him. He had the hearty 
backing and financial support of the English Baptists. 
God had richly blessed him in his work, he having bap- 
tized over three thousand at Falmouth. Much of the 
financial pressure had been removed. Everything seemed 
ready for a big advance. Then came the end. 


The Passing of Massa Knibb 


His friends all noticed that he was not well. He kept 
having sick spells, and yet with unexcelled courage he 


[ 167 ] 


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continued on. On Sunday night, November ninth, he 
preached on ‘“‘ The Glorious Gospel of the Blessed God.” 
After the sermon, though he was perspiring profusely, he 
walked home through the rain without an umbrella. That 
night he had a chill. He worked a little the two following 
days, but he complained of pain in his back. Wednesday 
typhoid fever set in, and it was soon followed by yellow 
fever in its most malignant form. The man sent from 
God was ready to die. He turned to a friend and said: 
“Tam not afraid to die. ‘The blood of Christ cleanseth 
from all sin,’ both of omission and commission, and that 
blood is my only trust.” On Saturday morning, Novem- 
ber 15, 1845, he looked into the eyes of his faithful heroic 
wife. Taking hold of her hand he said, “ Mary, it is all 
right.” He was gone. From lip to lip, from village to 
village went the tidings, “ Massa Knibb dead.” 

A week after he had been taken sick his funeral was 
held. The Baptist chapel and all the adjoining property 
was filled with folks who came to do him reverence. Some 
had been his enemies. Some had fought him bitterly. 
Many were his friends. All respected his courage and 
the whole-heartedness of his service. They came eight 
thousand strong to do him honor. 

Rev. Mr. Burchell preached the funeral sermon, and 
then they carried the body of Knibb to its resting-place. 
In reporting this last rite to the dead the Falmouth Post 
which, with the other papers of the island, had opposed 
the liberation of the slaves, records: 


He was a man of extraordinary character, and was certainly the 
“first” of his sect in Jamaica. As a husband and a father, he was 
all that could be desired—as a friend, he was warm-hearted, gener- 
ous, and sincere; to the poor he was ever a cheerful giver—and 


[ 168 ] 


William Knibb 





in his general dealings, he was truly the character described by the 
poet, ““ An honest man—the noblest work of God.” 


The Emancipator of Jamaica's Slaves 


William Knibb was only forty-two years old when he 
died. He had spent half of those years in Jamaica. 
He gave without any known reserve. He labored un- 
ceasingly to bring freedom to the slaves. He matched 
wits with the most brilliant English minds of his day; and 
by the sheer force of his unconquerable spirit he became 
the emancipator of Jamaica’s slaves. He made God’s 
way his way, God’s purpose his purpose, God’s plan his 
plan. He surrendered his all into the keeping of Jesus 
Christ, and whenever the call came for service he was 
ready to go. No wonder, therefore, that at the end he 
said, “I am ready.” 


[ 169 ] 





VII 


MADAME FELLER 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER VII 


. Birth of Henrietta Odin, April 22, 1800, at Motagny, Switzer- 


land. 


. Marriage of Henrietta to M. Feller on February 6, 1822, in 


Lausanne. 


. Church relationships: 


(1) Reared in the Established Church of Switzerland. 
(2) Joined the Independent Church after her conversion. 
(3) Baptized in 1829. 


. Madame Feller sails for New York on August 17, 1835. 


5. Beginnings in Canada: 


12 


(1) The winter of 1835 in Montreal. 

(2) Work established in Grande Ligne in September of 1836. 

(3) Help from Switzerland, and from the Canadian Baptist 
Missionary Society. 


. The Grande Ligne Mission established: 


(1) Opposition by the Catholics led by the priests. 
(2) Trips into the United States for money. 

(3) First mission home built in 1840. 

(4) Made into a Baptist Mission. 


. Outstations established that became self-supporting. 
. Broken in health, Madame Feller in Florida, 1854. 

. A visit to Switzerland in 1859. 

10. 
. Death of Madame Feller, March 29, 1868. 


Financial stress during the Civil War in America. 


A minister for Jesus to every human need. 


MADAME FELLER 


“ As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear 
the image of the heavenly.”—1 Corinthians 15 : 49. 


Birth of Henrietta Odin 


Henrietta Odin was born April 22, 1800, in the vil- 
lage of Motagny, which is on the border of Lake Leman 
in beautiful Switzerland. The handiwork of God is seen 
in the majesty of the mountains. The lakes of this land 
mirror the glory of God. The snowcaps tell of the 
Eternal. The wonder of the dying day, as the sun sent 
its brilliant rays coloring the land with all the diversity 
of the rainbow, was her portion. 

She rejoiced in the immensity of God as shown in her 
native land. She felt the influence of the grandeur of 
the mountains as they stood stedfast amidst the myriad 
changes all around. She permitted the sturdiness of the 
hills to be built into the fabric of her character. She 
breathed the lessons that God taught her in the natural 
world, and put them into practise. 

The home was a happy one. The family found joy 
in each other. Her father had been a soldier in the 
French army—this was during the time that France and 
Switzerland were bound together by an alliance. He was 
an educated man and loved his home. Her mother was a 
quiet unassuming woman. Henrietta was the fourth of 
six children; so her mother had her hands full. 

When Henrietta was but three years old the family 


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moved to Lausanne where her father had been appointed 
by the government director of the Cantonal Hospital. 
Soon he was made head of the penitentiary. This city, 
therefore, became Henrietta’s home by the time she was 
able to take cognizance of her surroundings and to under- 
stand something of life. How fortunate for her that 
Lausanne was her home! The city was the educational 
center of all Switzerland, and it contained the very best 
schools of the land. 

Her parents were members of the Protestant Church of 
Switzerland, and were serious in their religion. Her 
mother took charge of her religious training and care- 
fully reared her in the way of the church. It was most 
natural, therefore, that at the age of fifteen she became 
a member of the church. She found-:no peace of soul. 
She prayed constantly during this year, but her prayers 
seemed to be in vain. Her pastor told her that she need 
not worry, for eternal life and all its blessings were 
attained by good living. 

When still in her early teens Henrietta loved to go to 
the hospital. She took a great deal of delight in changing 
bandages, and in soothing pain. The patients in the 
hospital used to watch for her coming. Her smiling 
countenance and cheering manner were always enjoyed 
by every one. Indeed, so useful did she become that the 
doctors permitted her to help them in their serious opera- 
tions. Throughout all the rest of her life a hospital had 
a fascination for her. She was always glad when oppor- 
tunity offered, and she could be of assistance to those in 
pain and sickness. 

Henrietta was blossoming into womanhood. Her 
parents decided that it was time for her to put aside the 


[ 174 ] 


Madame Feller 


more serious things and to enter into the social life of 
Lausanne. She was a girl of affectionate nature, and 
soon because of her wit and natural loveliness she was 
much sought after. In an effort to drown the unhappi- 
ness of her spirit and the disquietude of her mind, she 
threw herself with uncommon enthusiasm into the gay 
social events. How could these young folks know that the 
smiling face hid a soul that was sorrowing? 


Marriage of Henrietta to M. Feller 


During this round of gaiety she became acquainted with 
the man who soon became her husband. She married 
this widower, M. Louis Feller, on February 6, 1822. 
He was a man twenty-one years her senior, and he had 
three children. Mr. Feller was of the aristocracy of the 
Swiss Republic. He could boast of this fact because the 
sway and power of Napoleon was broken and Europe was 
returning to normal. | 

Feller was a colonel in the artillery, and a man who 
often acted as magistrate in the city. Henrietta now gave 
herself to her new home, and the care of Feller’s three 
children. She early proved her love to them; and they 
responded with the full vivacity of youth. The children 
grew to love her as their mother, and to seek her counsel 
and advice. 

Henrietta’s first and only baby was born in November, 
1822. Tenderly and lovingly she watched over her baby 
girl. She consecrated her to God and prayed constantly 
that God would keep her. Only for a short time did the 
baby live. In 1825 the little one died. It seemed for a 
while to Henrietta that it would have been better if she 
herself had died. Could there be any sorrow like unto 


[ 175 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


her sorrow? Did God know? Was he merciful? The 
parents were drawn very close to him during these days. 


Church Relationships 


The Fellers were still unconverted. They had estab- 
lished family worship in their home, but they had no 
knowledge of the saving blood of Jesus. ‘They were 
following the religion of form and ceremony. Robert 
Haldane came to Lausanne with a message of the true 
religion, the religion of Jesus. The Fellers, however, be- 
lieved that these Evangelicals were wrong, and that peace 
was obtained only through their own virtue. Henrietta, 
writing to a friend of these days, says, “I do not seem 
to have the peace these do.” She was troubled in spirit. 
She was seeking for God, and knew not that God was 
seeking for her. She was conscious that something was 
wrong, but did not entirely realize that it was herself. 
God’s Holy Spirit was bringing her close to the Cross; 
and yet she did not think that her pardon was purchased 
there. The continual cry of her heart these days was, 
“My sins, my sins.” 

It was most natural that these Evangelicals should meet 
with opposition. They were preaching a doctrine that 
was contrary to the church of Switzerland. On March 
25, 1824, the government passed a law prohibiting these 
meetings, and issued an edict that any one who was 
caught promoting or attending such meetings should be 
fined and put into prison. This only caused the Evan- 
gelical followers to multiply faster. They held their 
meetings in barns and out-of-the-way places. Blood was 
shed. Houses were broken into, and men were imprisoned. 
This opposition continued for ten years: and then, the 


[ 176 ] 


Madame Feller 


government, seeming to realize the fruitlessness of its 
efforts, ceased its persecution. 

Feller was appointed superintendent of police. The 
spies of the government would report to him, and then 
he was supposed to raid the meetings of these Dissenters. 
Instead he would tell his wife, who would report the 
whole matter to Rev. Mark Fivaz, the pastor of the Evan- 
gelicals. Henrietta and her husband were in sympathy 
with these gospel preachers. They realized that some- 
thing was wrong with the old church; and so they did all 
in their power to favor these people, much to the dis- 
gust of the people of the orthodox church of Switzerland. 

Henrietta had always loved to minister to folks in need. 
She, therefore, took pleasure in seeking out these perse- 
cuted Christians and lightening their burden. One day 
she herself was taken sick, and her husband sent for a 
doctor. After the doctor’s examination he sought out 
the husband and said: ‘“ She has too much to do with 
religion. Have her leave the Bible alone for a while.” 
Then, in the quiet of her own room, thinking and praying 
to a God whom she knew not, lifting her soul with all 
the deep longing of a spiritual hunger to God, she found 
him “ who is the fairest of ten thousand and altogether 
lovely.”” Henrietta became a Christian. 

Immediately she set out to tell others the story. Dis- 
regarding all government orders she publicly confessed 
Christ. The peace that possessed her soul, after the years 
of unrest and storm, was so wonderful that she must tell 
others of Jesus. Oh, that all men knew and enjoyed the 
loving fellowship of her Lord! Most earnestly of all she 
desired that her family should be converted. Her folks 
were brought to Christ. As they watched and noted the 


[177 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





change in her life they sought and found the all-sufficient 
Saviour. : 

In the midst of this spiritual joy came physical dis- 
tress. M. Feller was attacked with typhus fever. Doc- 
tors were summoned; but all in vain. The disease ran its 
course though his wife watched over him constantly. 
One day he lost the power of hearing. As the sickness 
continued he became blind, and finally dumb. At last re- 
lease came for him, but sorrow to Henrietta’s heart. 

The new friends were very kind during these dark days. 
But “the heart knoweth its own bitterness.” In the 
secret of her home she had many times of depression as 
she thought of the loss of her child and her husband. 
Her life bark was frail, and the storm was severe as she 
tried to weather all these disasters. 

Still more painful, however, were the bitter expressions 
of her former friends: “ You are reaping as you have 
sown.” “ Your sins have brought these calamities upon 
you.” “If you had been true to your God and true to 
your church, these sufferings would not have come.” 

These folks were not content with verbal abuse. In 
every way possible they tried to make it difficult for 
Henrietta Feller. Contempt and hatred were heaped upon 
her. She was going through an experience in 1826 that 
was to prepare her for the more severe persecution of the 
years to follow. Switzerland was her training-school, but 
Canada the land of her service activities. 

Henrietta was still a member of the National Church. 
Though all her sympathies were with the new church, she 
had not joined. She loved the members of this Inde- 
pendent Church. Her heart went out to them because of 
their need, their poverty. Her life had been built and her 


[ 178 | 


Madame Feller 





practise had been to carry out the teaching of the verse, 
“Tt is more blessed to give than to receive.” 

Mme. Feller joined the Independent Church soon after 
her husband’s death. This meant an increase of petty 
annoyances. In every possible way her life was harassed. 
The church was broken into by the police several times, 
and the meetings were broken up. Behind all these open 
attacks stood the old orthodox members of the National 
Church, who looked upon the growth of this new church 
with horror. She had left the church of her fathers and 
joined the forces of “ these heretics.” 

With the loving care of a mother Henrietta had watched 
over her husband’s children. Since the death of Feller 
she had increased her ministry to these three. They were 
fast growing into manhood and womanhood. The boy 
was nineteen, and the girls were seventeen and fifteen. 
Seeing an opportunity she sold the home and invested 
the money for these children. The boy went to Germany 
to study, and the girls to a Moravian institution at Mont- 
mirail. It was a sad parting, but she thought it all for 
the best. 

Soon after she had joined the church Madame Feller 
became the advisor. She reached this position by an 
absolute obedience to the teaching of Jesus. ‘“ The great- 
est among you shall be your minister.” It was her care 
of the sick, her helpfulness to the poor, her sympathy 
to the sorrowing, and her real faith in Christ that en- 
deared her to all. Every one loved her. She was the 
ministering angel of the city. “She went about doing 
good.” 

In her twenty-eighth year she was attacked by typhoid 
fever of a very virulent type. She was stricken suddenly 


[ 179 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


and soon lay so low that folks despaired of her life. A 
pall of gloom settled over the little church and her friends 
as her physician announced that she would probably die. 
“Ts there no help?” they cried. “ Yes,” said the doctor, 
“there is God.” They gathered in the little church. Their 
faces were sad, and their hearts sorrowing. The pastor 
said, “ Let us pray.” How they prayed that day, for she 
whom they loved was sick! They continued on their 
knees praying. About noon her physician entered the 
church and said, “ Give thanks, give thanks, she is saved.” 

The next summer Henrietta went to the valley of Jura 
to spend a few months in recuperation. She had never 
lived among the Roman Catholics, but they were all 
around her here. She was very much moved at the super- 
stition, the ignorance, and the moral degradation of the 
people; and she decided that she would try to help the 
Catholics to see the light. God was giving her a contact 
with that religion which she was going to be called on to 
contend against in Canada. 

During this season she was very much influenced by 
two things: One was the life of Henry Martyn, the great 
missionary. She laid her life on the altar of service and 
promised her Lord that she would be a missionary if he 
desired. The other influence was the great outdoors of 
God’s handiwork. She had been so busy in relieving suf- 
fering and ministering to the needy that nature had not 
quieted her soul. In this beautiful country, with an open 
Bible, and an uplifted heart, God spoke to her soul as he 
had spoken to the soul of Moses of old. Here was sur- 
cease from sorrow! Here was manna for a hungry soul! 
She ate at the table of the Lord’s bounty, and drank of the 
water of life. 


[ 180 ] 


Madame Feller 





God taught her many lessons during this time of seclu- 
sion. As she read the New Testament in her room, as her 
eyes searched the heavens, as the Holy Spirit spoke to 
her soul, she became convinced that the only form of bap- 
tism recognized by the Word of God was baptism by 
immersion. With no book but the Bible, and with no 
teacher but God’s Spirit she came into the full light of 
the Baptist’s belief. , 

When she returned to Lausanne she told her pastor and 
the church the result of her studies. To her surprise 
and joy the church had been studying the question of 
baptism and had come to the same conclusion. Now to 
the astonishment of her friends Madame Feller and her 
physician were baptized. 

With the revival of Bible study and private prayers 
came a renewed interest in the unsaved everywhere. 
Missionary interest began to spread and grow. M. Fivaz 
went as a missionary to Havre, France. When Fivaz 
left M. Olivier became pastor; and he, his wife, his 
brother Francis, and Mme. Feller kept the church at a 
high degree of missionary zeal and consecration. They 
established a Sunday school to promote a study of the - 
Bible. They urged foreign missions. A genuine revival 
began to spread all over the city. Persecution ceased en- 
tirely. Tract and Bible societies were organized. A mis- 
sion institute was founded. Church-members were seek- 
ing the will of God for their lives. 


Madame Feller Sails for New York 


In June, 1834, M. Olivier offered his services to the 
Lausanne Missionary Society to go wherever he was sent. 
This Society decided to send M. Olivier, his wife, and 


[ 181 ] 


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two students to that part of Canada where the Indian 
population lived. With much rejoicing they set forth on 
their missionary evangel. They reached Montreal on 
October 29. They decided to stay in the city long enough 
to learn the English language. This was contrary to 
the instruction of the Society which had commissioned 
them to go to the Indians. The Oliviers were, therefore, 
cut off from missionary support, while the students went 
on into the west to work among the Indians. The Oliviers 
now sought different means of income, securing most of 
their money from their boarders. They were also bap- 
tized by the Rev. Mr. Gilmour during this time. Madame 
Olivier kept writing to Madame Feller, urging her to 
come to Canada. She wanted to go. She only waited 
for a definite understanding as to the will of God. 

The Independent Churches of Switzerland now organ- 
ized and formed their own missionary society. At their 
first meeting a letter was read from Olivier urging them 
to send a young man to help. Louis Roussy was selected 
as the man to be sent to Canada. Madame Feller resolved 
to go. She had received another urgent request from 
Madame Olivier. Her family at once began to object 
most strenuously. Her father was especially distressed, 
and did all in his power to change her decision. He was 
very angry with her for even thinking of such a trip. 
She was throwing her life away uselessly. Nevertheless, 
she and L. Roussy sailed on August 17, 1835, for New 
York. 

Her heart was light and her spirit buoyant on the 
trip. At the age of thirty-five she was setting forth on 
a missionary voyage. This had been the desire of her 
life since the summer that she had passed at Jura. God 


[ 182 ] 


Madame Feller 





had finally opened the way; and with that same singleness 
of purpose that characterized her whole life she left all 
to follow her Lord’s leading. 


Beginnings in Canada 


They reached New York on October twenty-third after 
a stormy voyage, and then they went up by steamer to 
Albany. Soon she came to the home of the Oliviers, 
where she was greeted with open arms by Madame Olivier. 
She wrote to her father, as soon as she reached Canada. 
She was anxious for him to come into the full light 
of the truth. She wrote: 


Do not accuse any one of having drawn me into this course. I 
have obeyed no leading but that of the Holy Spirit. I have 
calculated the consequences. Do not accuse me of fanaticism when 
it is just my reasonable service that I am rendering to God. Be 
yourself reconciled to God. 


Mme. Feller spent her first winter in Montreal. The 
city reminded her of the countryside where she had first 
come in contact with the Catholics. She found the people 
of this city still more superstitious. She went from house 
to house talking generally to women and children about 
the priests who ordered the people to burn the Bibles she 
gave them. So much afraid were the people of their re- 
ligious leaders that they either burned the Bibles that 
Madame Feller had given them or they read them secretly. 
She was astonished at the lack of real religion and at the 
crude beliefs of the people. 

In the spring of 1836 the Oliviers went back to Swit- 
zerland. Olivier’s health had been so poor since he had 
been in Canada that with much sorrow—under the doc- 


[ 183 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





tor’s orders—he was compelled to leave the work which 
he had so gladly begun. They urged Madame Feller to 
return with them. They were worried to leave her in 
Canada; but she stayed. What could a lone woman do 
in a country under the control of priests? In the whole 
Province of Quebec there were very few Protestants. 
The Catholics held both ecclesiastical and political control. 
Persecution had annihilated or subdued the Protestants, 
so that they did not count. 

Madame Feller bade farewell to her friends and re- 
mained in Canada. She had left Switzerland at the 
command of God. Not the lure of friendship, nor the 
quest of adventure had brought her to this country. 
Obedience to the will of God had been her joy. Until 
he directed her steps homeward she was resolved that she 
would live in Canada. 

On May 27, 1836, she moved to St. John. She hoped 
to establish a school there, and Roussy a preaching sta- 
tion; but all in vain. The Catholics, dominated by the 
hatred of the priests, drove them out. They moved to 
Grande Ligne in September of that year. Roussy had 
already done some preaching at this place in the home 
of one of the converts. Madame Feller made her home in 
the upper part of this house, and here conducted a school 
for about twenty children. 


The Grande Ligne Mission Established 


The Grande Ligne Mission was started in this way; 
Roussy preaching unless he was interrupted by the cease- 
less activities of the priests; Madame Feller holding her 
school in this attic, unless the priests hindered the coming 
of the children by scaring their parents. Bible classes 


[ 184 ] 





Mapame HENRIETTA FELLER 
Founder of Grande Ligne Mission 


Lh Aes 





4 


=> at 
ae 


Madame Feller 





were held at night for the adults. These classes some- 
times lasted until midnight, so eager were the people to 
hear of Jesus. Converts were won, and there were added 
to them such as were saved. 

With the same tireless zeal that characterized her work 
in Lausanne, Madame Feller labored in Grande Ligne. 
No one was too poor, but that she answered their cry. 
No one had been too violent in opposition, but that in time 
of need she ministered unto them. They came to her, 
folks of all classes and conditions of society seeking ad- 
vice, and desiring comfort and cheer. Home after home 
that repelled Roussy the preacher opened to Madame 
Feller, the comforter and friend of all. 

When summer came the garret rooms became too warm 
and the missionaries moved into a barn. They realized 
that if the work was going to be continued, a house must 
be erected to take care of all the work of the mission. 
They were also impressed with the fact that the work was 
growing. Roussy now had eight preaching stations, and 
more help must be had. They wrote to Switzerland con- 
cerning their needs. Some financial aid came at this time 
from the Canadian Baptist Missionary Society. 

Roussy and Madame Feller set out in the summer of 
1837 to raise money for a combined schoolhouse and 
home. They visited Montreal, where they had several 
friends. They went into some of the villages of Northern 
New York and secured money from the French Cana- 
dians there. With the funds secured they built a small 
schoolhouse. The Leveque family moved into it, and 
gave up their home entirely for mission purposes. 
Madame Feller lived down-stairs and conducted her 
classes there; while Roussy and his brother, who had 


[ 185 ] 


Early Baptist Missiouaries and Pioneers 


been sent over recently from Switzerland, lived in the 
garret rooms. 

All was not peaceful. The priests were not content to 
permit their church-members to join forces with the 
Protestant religion. The Catholics began a series of night 
raids and marauding expeditions that had for their ulti- 
mate purpose the driving of these missionaries from 
Canada. They destroyed their gardens. They killed their 
live stock. They came with masked faces night after 
night and threatened death to the converts unless these 
renounced the new religion. Persecution became so vio- 
lent that the missionaries, taking fifty Canadians with 
them, moved to Champlain, New York. They took with 
them only their personal effects; but they were received 
very kindly by the folks of the village. — 

It was a time of testing, of dire poverty. During their 
two months’ stay in Champlain they received eight hun- 
dred and thirty dollars from Switzerland for relief. The 
missionaries determined to go back to Canada. They 
found their homes still standing, but everything else had 
been plundered, and they were facing a winter. Some of 
the converts thought that their neighbors ought to be 
brought to justice and compelled by law to make proper 
restitution for the damage done. Madame Feller, how- 
ever, with her usual keen insight, called a meeting of the 
two factions. She suggested that there be no legal action, 
but that all work together for the restoring of the things 
that had been destroyed. As a result of this piece of 
Christian diplomacy bitterness was buried, cooperation 
sprang up, and more and more homes were open to her 
visits. 

One of the most difficult problems that Madame Feller 


[ 186 ] 


Madame Feller 


faced during this time was financial support. The people 
were poor, and the constant persecution of the Catholics 
had brought most of them to extreme poverty. It was an 
expense to keep up the school and to feed the children 
who were staying at the mission house. Some of her 
friends suggested that she ask some mission board to take 
over the work. Both the Canadian Baptist Missionary 
Society and the Foreign Evangelical Society of New 
York had helped her in the work. Though she was sick 
this year, and had to undergo a slight operation, she be- 
lieved that this was her God-given task. Others might 
help. The Boards might give money; but to her death 
she carried the burden of securing enough financial 
support. 

She began now a series of journeys that kept her con- 
stantly going. In the United States she received her 
heartiest financial help. When she visited Philadelphia 
in 1840 and told her story, she was given over a thou- 
sand dollars. So pleased was she with this expression of 
love and appreciation of what she was trying to do, that 
immediately she ordered a new mission house built. This 
building, a very substantial structure, was dedicated on 
August 9, 1840. Finally, the Mission had a real home. 
Part of it was fixed for a chapel; part of it for the liv- 
ing-rooms of the missionaries. Fifteen people made this 
their home. 

One of the most cheering events of the mission work 
was the conversion of different men who became of great 
help in the work. Rev. Leon Normandeau, a priest of 
the Roman Catholic Church, was converted by the read- 
ing of the New Testament, and the listening to the ser- 
mons in the little chapel. He was a man of much culture. 


Bia 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





He had served in the Catholic Seminary in Quebec, teach- 
ing Latin, geography, literature, and mathematics. He 
was appointed as a teacher of the older pupils of the 
school. His humble -Christian life proved to be a great 
blessing. 

Another man of much prominence was Doctor Cote. 
He had been reared in the Catholic Church; but at the 
time that he met L. Roussy he was an infidel. He was 
genuinely converted. As soon as he was brought to 
Christ he called together all his friends and neighbors 
and told them of his love for Jesus. He made his home 
in the village of Chazy and with his wife opened a church. 
When the opportunity presented itself he moved to St. Pie, 
and helped to organize the work. He was there ordained 
in 1844. 

How difficult it was to work among these priest-ridden 
people. They had no Bible. Madame Feller found only 
a catechism. They had beautiful church buildings, very 
ornate ; but the people knew nothing of a spiritual religion. 
They had no schools, for the priests did their thinking. 
The whole standard of their living was low, for they had 
no moral basis. Yet, when they did come into the light 
and accept the Bible, the converts were faithful and sted- 
fast. This was very encouraging to the workers. The 
ridicule of friends and the persecution of others had no 
effects on those who joined the Mission. They were firm 
and happy in the new faith. 

Madame Feller was now making annual visits to the 
United States. Rev. Mr. Kirk accompanied her on these 
trips. He talked at the mass-meetings; and she spoke 
through an interpreter at the ladies’ meetings. They visited 
the larger cities usually taking in New York, Philadel- 


[ 188 ] 


Madame Feller 


phia, Boston, and Baltimore. They were always gladly 
received. They took back a good many hundred dollars 
for their work each year. Everything was encouraging. 
The Mission, by 1845, had sixty members, a property 
valuation of over ten thousand dollars, three teachers in 
the school, and many outstations. 

Finance continued to be an ever-present problem. 
Finally, it was decided to place the Mission under one 
of the Mission Boards. It was most natural, therefore, 
that the Canadian Baptist Board should be the one that 
should undertake the charge. All of the converts had 
been immersed; and the sprinkling of infants was un- 
known. Nevertheless, this produced a_ severe crisis in 
the Mission. Some of the most liberal supporters of the 
Mission ceased to give; and the Foreign Evangelical So- 
ciety opposed her work. Not any change of belief, or of 
activity produced this crisis, but the turning of the work 
- to the Baptists., Madame Feller did not make this change 
in vain. Baptists, both of the United States and Canada, 
rose to the emergency. Money, barrels of clothing, and 
food were received at the Mission from many Baptist 
churches. They rallied in a very helpful way to the sup- 
port of the Mission. 

The Catholics never ceased from harassing Outbreaks 
against the Protestants were periodic. The priests organ- 
ized groups from time to time to enter homes, collect 
Bibles, and lead in the burning of the books in a public 
place. As a fire kindled by Bibles was burning one day 
a Catholic said, “‘ Thus we do with all these works of the 
devil.” Such the Catholics called the Protestant Bible. 
A Baptist answered, “ You may burn, and burn all that 
you please, but you cannot burn my soul.” 


[ 189 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





Some of the leaders of the opposition were brought 
into the light by the Christian manner in which their 
persecution was received. Two prominent priests were 
converted. One, Rev. C. Chiniquy, had entered into 
an open debate with Rev. S. Roussy. This was the be- 
ginning of his intensive study of the Bible. After his 
baptism he preached in Illinois. The other, Rev. Tetreau, 
was born again by the Spirit of God, and he began helping 
Mr. Lafleur at St. Pie. This was pleasing to Henrietta 
Feller as she tried to lead the Mission in all the multiply- 
ing activities of its work. 


Outstations Established 


The outreach of the Mission was ever becoming larger. 
M. Roussy would go to a city or village and hold a 
preaching service. Prayer would be offered at Grande 
Ligne on his behalf that God would make the way plain 
if he desired them to establish work there. Next Madame . 
Feller would go, or under her direction one of the teach- 
ers, to start a school. Roussy went to St. Marie in 1852, 
and his work was blessed of God. One of the converts 
gave ground for the chapel and schoolhouse. Immediately 
a brick church was built, and intensive work started. 
As scholars went forward in these schools through the 
primary grades they were sent on to the Mission Institute 
at Grande Ligne. Here the scholar was asked to do a 
certain amount of work each day, as they kept him and 
trained him. What joy came to Madame Feller’s heart 
when a boy who had come to the Mission School so 
thoroughly grasped the gospel idea that he went on to 
Geneva, Switzerland, to finish his studies that he might 
be a minister of the gospel. 


[ 190 } 


Madame Feller 


Broken in Health, Madame Feller in Florida 


Wherever Madame Feller went people learned to love 
her. Her earnest, sincere manner, and her intense conse- 
cration to her work proved to be the open sesame to many 
a home and church. This lone woman, whom the Oliviers 
had been afraid to leave behind, had started a work that 
only the Lamb’s Book of Life will properly evaluate. She 
was beginning to show the effects of her active life. Her 
health gave way in the fall of 1854, and she was laid aside 
for a few weeks in the city. It was most severe punish- 
ment for her to be idle. The report was brought to her 
while in Philadelphia of the disastrous fire that had 
visited the Mission at St. Pie and destroyed all the build- 
ings. This did not add to her peace of mind, for she 
looked upon each station as her special care. It therefore 
became imperative that she should go South. Weakness 
of body and a hacking cough were destroying all her 
resistance. She spent the winter of 1854 in St. Augus- 
tine, Florida. 

The ocean, she had learned to love in her first voyage 
to America. As she watched it every day in all its 
majesty, as the billows rolled in and broke on the beach, 
her mind went back to that summer in the valley of Jura. 
The years had fled by at a very rapid pace since then. 
God had been good! Her eyes swept the expanse of 
water as she attempted to diagnose her soul. She wanted 
her life pure and clean. She desired above everything 
else to be a vessel “ fit for the Master’s use.” She prayed 
constantly that all sin might be removed from her life, and 
that Jesus in all of his beauty and loveliness might shine 
through her deeds. 


[ 191 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





She poured out her soul to God about her work. For 
almost twenty years she had championed the cause. She 
visited in her imagination every station of the Mission. 
She told God of each worker and each convert. Only 
through him could or would the blessing come. Though 
severed by several hundred miles from the work that she 
loved, she visited each church and each teacher in fancy 
and commended them to the mercy of God. 

When Madame Feller returned to Grande Ligne, after 
an absence of seven months, she immediately instituted 
some changes in the Mission. She had the Mission in- 
corporated under the name of “ The Evangelical Society 
of La Grande Ligne.” Any one could become a member 
of the society by the paying of one dollar annually. If 
one wished, thirty dollars would secure a life membership. 
She also opened in the fall the Feller Institute where 
pupils had trained teachers, and were taught definite 
utilitarian tasks. 

During her absence the funds of the Mission had been 
severely drained, and no one had gone out to solicit more 
funds. The American Baptist Home Mission Society, 
which had agreed to give a certain amount each year, 
was behind on its quota. Other regular givers had not 
sent in their contributions. They were all waiting for the 
leadership of Madame Feller. No matter how many 
helpers the Mission had, no matter how well trained the 
teachers, or how willing were the workers, all looked to 
Madame Feller as the counselor and adviser. She always 
seemed to know to whom to go for relief when money was 
needed. She was a wonderful financier as well as a good 
administrator. All rejoiced to have her back again at her 
old place in the Mission. 


[ 192 ] 


Madame Feller 


One Sunday there came to the Mission a French 
Catholic. He desired to learn if all the terrible things that 
the priests had told him about the Mission were true. 
He spent the whole day, and then started back to his 
home fifty miles away with a Bible. He was curious 
about this book. The priests had told him not to read it, 
but Madame Feller had assured him that it would do his 
soul good. After he had read part of the New Testament 
he believed that he had found the true religion. He 
therefore urged his family to read it; but they only 
ridiculed him. Finally, to please him they read the book, 
were convicted, and were saved. He was so happy over 
this pearl of greatest price that he had found that he 
started to tell others the story. Immediately persecution 
began. In the “ Memoirs of Madame Feller” it is the 
most severe of all those described—this persecution in the 
village of St. Remi. He was maltreated, abused, scoffed 
at, and threatened. Through it all he continued stedfast 
and immovable in his faith. They cut down his fruit 
trees. Led by the Catholic priest, they abused him in 
every way. So excruciating was the suffering heaped 
upon him that he perished as a martyr of the Protestant 
religion. 

This sort of annoyance and disturbance broke out in 
more or less severity at every place where Madame Feller 
started a new work. The Catholics would always try to 
burn the Bibles, and would tell that these missionaries 
were servants of the devil. After a mission had been 
really started persecution ceased ; for the Catholics learned 
that instead of thwarting the cause of Protestantism they 
were really abetting it by their persecution. While 
Madame Feller and her helpers felt the suffering of every 


[ 193 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





beginning, they learned that in this way God was bringing 
in his kingdom among the French people. 

Her health was not fully restored when she left Florida. 
Though she was not yet sixty years of age she was begin- 
ning to show and feel the activity of her life. Her jour- 
neys into the United States ceased. She did very little 
traveling. She made the Mission her home, and here 
folks came from far and near to see her. Her hacking 
cough and her weakened condition often kept her confined 
inside the house. Despite this fact, she continued as ad- 
ministrator of all the affairs of the Mission. 


A Visit to Switzerland 


The opportunity came to her in 1859 fora long ocean 
voyage. Mr. and Mrs. Lafleur were going to journey to 
Switzerland for their health, and they asked her to jour- 
ney with them. She gladly accepted their invitation, hop- 
ing that the trip would restore her energy. They reached 
Lausanne safely, and it delighted her soul to renew ac- 
quaintances that had been broken by her twenty-four 
years’ sojourn in Canada. 

Instead of regaining her health she was taken deathly 
sick in Lausanne. Her friends, the Oliviers, urged her 
to remain in Switzerland. Though she felt very miser- 
able she bid them good-by, saying, “ My heart is in 
Canada.” To Canada she started by way of New York. 
Mr. Lafleur, however, stopped in England to lecture on 
the Mission work, as he had done in Switzerland. He 
came back to the Mission, greatly rejoicing at the amount 
of money that had been given to him for the work. 

It was indeed very fortunate that this money had been 
collected just at this time, for all gifts from the United 


[ 194 ] 


Madame Feller 





States ceased during the four years of the Civil War. 
Madame Feller had reached Grande Ligne in Decem- 
ber of 1861. She realized that it was going to be very 
difficult to keep up the work without money from 
the United States. With her usual stedfastness of pur- 
pose she immediately ordered that all work should be 
carried on as usual. 

Madame Feller’s health was in a very precarious con- 
dition at this time. The sickness that attacked her in 
Switzerland had left her very much weakened. In 1865 
she had a paralytic stroke which affected her whole body. 
She lived a few more years, but she was ever afterward 
enfeebled. Her mind, however, was as clear as a bell 
to the very end. 

She thought that she ought to commit the management 
of the Mission to a younger person. She was becoming 
so weak that for days at a time she was confined to her 
room. The teachers and preachers would not listen to a 
change. They looked upon her, not so much as a com- 
mander-in-chief whose order was to be obeyed, but as the 
mother of them all, some one who took a constant and 
never-tiring interest in them, one who was never too 
weary to listen to the most trivial detail of their lives. 
Never, as long as she lived, would they permit any one 
to take her place. 


Financial Stress During the Civil War 


The funds of the Mission were in a very depleted state. 
With all of the income shut off from the States things 
were constantly becoming worse. In 1867 the question of 
opening the schools at Grande Ligne was debated. There 
was needed, not only the money for the teachers’ salaries, 


[195 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





but also for the support of the pupils. Who would raise 
the money? Madame Feller was confined to her room. 
Where would the person go to seek the money? The 
Civil War had caused chaos everywhere. 


Death of Madame Feller 


Madame Feller was spared the anxiety of these days. 
She had led the Mission through many such crises. She 
had always found a way out of the difficulty. Now, she 
was listening to a higher call. The dread pneumonia 
attacked her weakened frame. She had no resistance 
left. In four days she was gone, March 29, 1868. She 
had been summoned to a higher service. She went to a 
land where there are no worries over financial difficul- 
ties, and where no anxiety of persecution ever annoy. 


A Minister for Jesus to Human Need 


There never had been held a funeral so large as the one 
that was given this saint of God on the first day of April. 
She had been a friend of all. She had served alk whom 
she found in need without respect to church or creed. 
They came from far and near, these friends of hers; 
Catholic and Protestant, Jew and Gentile gathered on that 
funeral day to do honor to this woman who had sacrificed 
her all that they might know God. Death had broken 
down all barriers, and blotted out all lines of separation. 
They looked at the coffin that held this friend of man, and 
they were bound together in a common grief. Madame 
Feller had woven her life into the heart of Quebec. They 
gathered around her grave to thank God for her life, to 
sorrow over her loss, and to take courage that God who 
had sent her to minister to them, would watch over them. 


[ 196 ] 


Madame Feller 


They erected a white marble octagon-shaped monu- 
ment, eleven feet high, in her memory. The inscriptions 
on it tell the story: 


To THE MEMORY OF 
HENRIETTA “RELLCER 
BorRN IN SWITZERLAND 


FOUNDRESS OF THE GRANDE LIGNE MISSION IN CANADA 
A TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE AND LOVE 


PRESENTED BY FRENCH CANADIANS 
TO THE MeEmory OF THEIR DEAR BENEFACTRESS 
WHOSE CHRISTIAN DEVOTEDNESS PROCURED FOR THEM 
THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST 


Greater than a monument of wood or stone is that of 
flesh and blood. More imposing than the marble shaft is 
the record she left then and the permanency of her work 
which has grown, and which is being blessed of God to- 
day. There were nearly four hundred who had left the 
bigotry of Catholicism for the open sunlight of the gospel 
of Jesus, and who had joined the church before she died. 
There were ten regular preaching stations, five outstations, 
and seven ordained ministers. That does not take into 
account the many who had been brought to Christ, and 
then had migrated to the ,United States, and who thus 
became human torch-bearers for Jesus. Who shall com- 
pile the record of her visits to the sick, her relief of the 
poor, and her constant service to all who were in need? 
Her light was “a burning and a shining light.” 


[ 197 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





It still burns in the Grande Ligne Mission of today. 
The Feller Institute stands with open door ready to carry 
on the work that Madame Feller so courageously started. 
The need of Quebec is still the same. The minds of the 
many are still ignorant. The spirits of most of the people 
are still untaught. 

The Quebec of today has a population of over two and 
one-fourth millions of people. Over two millions of 
these people still speak the French language and call them- 
selves Roman Catholics. Here stands Madame Feller’s 
greatest monument, namely, the Grande Ligne Mission 
that is carrying on the work that she so nobly started. 
For the saving of these French Canadians from the super- 
stition of many a belief of Romanism and a reliance on 
the forgiving power of the priest, she gave her life. The 
challenge is still unanswered. A great field of over two 
million people is calling for the light. 

Madame Feller had no hatred for the Catholics. She 
loved all people. By her own soul’s experience, as well 
as by the Bible which she constantly read, she had learned 
that “there is no other name under heaven whereby ye 
can be saved.” With a trust in her Christ that knew no 
flinching she laid her life completely on the altar of ser- 
vice, content to know that all was safe with him. 

Still this New France in old Quebec calls as it called 
Madame Feller in 1835. The need is great. The promise 
is power. The assurance is divine companionship. The 
torch she has lighted is still blazing. Service and sacrifice 
are still demanded. The reward is the “ well done ” of the 
world’s only Saviour. 


[ 198 ] 


Vill 


ISAAC McCOY 


Ei 
12. 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER VIII 


. The birth of Isaac McCoy, June 13, 1874, in Fayette County, 


Pennsylvania. 


. McCoy’s early life: 


(1) Taught the trade of wheelwright by his father. 
(2) Converted at sixteen. 


. McCoy’s beginnings in Christian work: 


(1) Moved to Vincennes in 1804. 
(2) Pastor at Maria Creek for eight years. 


. First work for the Indians. 


(1) Obstacles were liquor and Catholic interpreters. 
(2) Schools established. 
(3) Settled in Fort Wayne. 


. McCoy’s work at Carey: 


(1) First visit to Washington in January, 1822. 

(2) Constantly on horseback. 

(3) Appointed by the government in 1825 to investigate In- 
dian Territory. 


. Home at Fayette: 


(1) Reached Fayette in August, 1829. 

(2) Made yearly visits to Washington. 

(3) Wrote about the Indians for Washington and Philadel- 
phia papers. 


. Home on Osage River in Indian Territory, 1832. 
. McCoy opposed by people who called the Indians “a dying 


race.” 


. McCoy’s plan for organization of Indian Territory accepted 


by the government. 


. Secretary of the American Indian Association with home in 


Louisville, Kentucky, 1842. 
The passing of McCoy, June 21, 1846. 
A champion of Indian rights. 


ISAAC McCOY 


“One thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and 
stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on 
toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
Jesus.’—Philippians 3: 13, 14. 


The Indians have a greater appeal to the American 
Christians than any other race. These first Americans 
have been sung about by the poets. Many a writer has 
immortalized their valor and their fearlessness. His- 
torians have told of the ruthlessness of some of the 
white settlers. Christian missions among the Indians are 
therefore ever interesting. 

It has not always been so. Long and weary were 
the years that passed when the Indians were practically 
forgotten. Even in the Council of the Mission Boards 
of one hundred years ago missionary work among these 
people found very little hearing. The Indians were looked 
upon as “a dying race,’ so why make any effort to 
save them? 

These were the years of their neglect. No voice was 
raised in their behalf. No one made any appeal that they 
might hear the gospel message. Feeble efforts were made 
by a few folks, but the great denominations of America 
were not giving much attention to the homeland. The 
lure of the lands across the sea captured their interest. 
The stirring stories of those early missionaries to India, 
Judson, Rice, and others, enlisted their support of 
endeavors to convert the heathen abroad. 


[ 201 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





The Birth of Isaac McCoy 


God intended that the American Indian should hear 
the gospel. They were numbered among the “ whoso- 
evers”’ of his providence. And so a baby was born on 
June 13, 1784. It was the day of national chaos. Free- 
dom had come to the Thirteen Colonies, but no govern- 
ment had as yet been set up. In the countryside where 
this baby boy came, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, there 
was much unrest. Folks went about armed. Even while 
at church they posted sentries to warn them of any ap- 
proaching danger. 

Who could know that this baby was destined to be the 
pioneer of his denomination in work for the Indians? 
Who could know that in after years he would rise to the 
prominence of being an adviser to the President and the 
Congress of the United States in regard to Indian affairs ? 
Such was Isaac McCoy. 


McCoy’s Early Life 


The McCoy family moved to Kentucky when Isaac was 
but six years of age. On this frontier Isaac spent the 
years of his boyhood. He was a lover of books, and he 
sought in every way possible to secure them. His eager 
mind was ever searching for new truths. It was not 
easy one hundred and twenty-five years ago to find many 
books among those early settlers, but those he could 
secure he quickly read. 

His parents reared him with much care. His father 
taught him the trade of wheelwright, at which he was 
adept. This trade came in good stead in after life, when, 
unable to secure sufficient funds to keep his family by his 


[ 202 ] 


Isaac McCoy 


preaching, he would manufacture a few wheels. His 
mother was most intent that her boy should be reared “ in 
the fear and admonition of the Lord.” With such godly 
parents it was little wonder that Isaac should early learn 
to love God and hate evil. He was converted in his 
sixteenth year; and for the rest of his life, without falter- 
ing, he was true to his faith in Jesus Christ. 

Religion to Isaac was not just something to be enjoyed. 
Religion was not something to make comfortable the life 
that is to come. Religion was something that demanded 
and challenged all his life. He sought to learn God’s will 
for him. One day in the field he had a deep religious 
experience. It seemed to him that God was speaking. As 
he stopped he thought that he saw a finger pointing to- 
ward Vincennes. God was calling him into Christian 
work, and was showing him exactly where his field of 
activity should lie. He never questioned the authenticity 
of this vision, but proceeded immediately to obey. 


McCoy’s Beginnings in Christian Work 


He moved to Vincennes in 1804. It was the oldest 
town on the banks of the Wabash, and the capital of 
Indiana Territory. He had married Christiana Polke 
six months previously; and now he was ready to preach 
the gospel. The climate was so unhealthy, however, that 
they moved to Clark County, Indiana. Here was located 
the Silver Creek Baptist Church, which licensed McCoy 
to preach when he was twenty-four years old. There 
was little opportunity to preach here, so he followed his 
trade of wheelwright. 

Three years later he moved back near Vincennes. He 
bought fifty-four acres of land on Maria Creek, and 


[ 203 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





began planning and thinking of his Christian calling. 
He was glad to help organize the Maria Creek Baptist 
Church, and to accept the pastorate. This was his first 
and only pastorate. He held it for eight years. He was 
paid very little for this preaching, so he continued to spin 
wheels, and to make farming implements. This indus- 
trial activity did not keep him from doing missionary 
work. He journeyed north, south, and west for many 
miles on horseback. He was serving his apprenticeship 
for the years of labor that lay before him. 

These were days of unrest. Talk of war was in the 
air. England and the United States were again going 
to fight. Would the Indians ally themselves with Great 
Britain or the United States? No one seemed to know, 
not even the Indians. The red men, however, were be- 
coming very much disturbed and suspicious. The white 
men were growing so numerous, and were continually 
pushing the Indians westward. To what end? Why 
were these white men gathering and building block- 
houses ? 

McCoy liked not the hostile attitude of the whites, or 
the unfriendliness of the Indians. He believed that in- 
stead of arming to fight the red men, they should prepare 
to preach the gospel to them. Like the men of his day, 
however, he trained himself to be a soldier and carried 
his gun. Even while worship services were being held 
in this pioneer community, sentries were posted, and 
men brought their muskets to church. 

All this seemed to McCoy incongruous with the teach- 
ing of Jesus. These men should not be fired with hatred, 
but with love. The Indians needed to be evangelized. 
There was no organized effort to reach them. Here was 


[ 204 ] 


Isaac McCoy 





a great virgin field for the Protestants to enter. He, there- 
fore, decided to form a society to promote missionary 
work. He sent letters to the churches of the Long Run 
Association of Kentucky, and of the Silver Creek Asso- 
ciation of Indiana. These Baptist Associations adopted 
his plan and made him their missionary. 


First Work for the Indians 


McCoy was now ready for his life-work. He with his 
wife and children were going to live among the Indians. 
He was going to blaze a new trail among these red-skins 
of the West. He gladly set out on October 27, 1818, for 
Montezuma, Indiana. The Board of the Triennial Bap- 
tist Convention had sent him out for one year as an ex- 
periment, and with a limited commission among certain 
counties. Now, he was going on his own initiative to 
evangelize these Indians. 

The first obstacle that he Bhoanteredt and that which 
proved to be the greatest handicap to his work, was the 
white man’s liquor among these Indians. This proved a 
veritable fire-water to them. They acted as men possessed 
when they drank this liquor. It seemed a very terrible 
offense to McCoy that the whites gave this liquor to the 
red men. After his first contact with this curse he fought 
it with all the ardor of his being. When he learned that 
the government was considering moving the Indians to 
west of the Mississippi he championed that cause. He 
believed that separation from the whites would be sepa- 
ration from the white man’s rum. 

Another difficulty that he encountered was that of lan- 
guage. He came into contact with the tribes of Weas, 
Miamis, Kickapoos, and Delawares. Until he could learn 


[ 205 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





their various tongues he needed interpreters. The only 
interpreters that he could secure were Roman Catholics. 
He soon realized, by watching the faces of the Indians, 
that the things he was saying were not being correctly 
interpreted. These Catholic men were changing his words 
according to their own liking. He immediately decided, 
therefore, to master the Indian dialects. He first began 
a study of the Delaware tongue. 

McCoy’s work at this time had two characteristics. 
One was the founding of schools. He established his first 
school in January, 1819, with six pupils. Five of the 
students were children of the white settlers, and one of 
them was an Indian. His hope was to build up a school 
with Indian children in it from all the tribes, the pupils 
ultimately to become the native ministers among their 
own people. It was a big vision for these days when the 
work was in such a primitive state. 

The other activity of McCoy was his constant visitation 
of the tribes. He wanted all of them to share in the 
gospel of Jesus. He was desirous of evangelizing all the 
Indians. He did not feel that he had been sent to any 
special tribe, but rather that his commission from God 
was to preach the gospel to all the Indians. As he jour- 
neyed on horseback all over this Indiana Territory he was 
accompanied by one or more Indians. In this way he 
gained a quicker hearing in the various tribes. 

These early days were days of hardship for Mrs. Isaac 
McCoy. She was left alone a great deal with her six 
little children, unprotected from the Indians. When Isaac 
came home from his trip one day he found the family 
sick, and his wife discouraged and very lonely. He 
sought, but without avail, to secure help for her in the 


[ 206 ] 


Isaac McCoy 


home. She was true to the gleam, however, for she 
held school whenever possible for the Indian girls. 

McCoy desired to press on farther. When the Indian 
agent at Fort Wayne offered him buildings and a garden, 
if he would only settle there, he gladly accepted. This 
was a central point for trading, and it would put him in 
closer touch with his beloved Indians. He had now lived 
among them for two years and a half, and he was 
more and more conscious of their need of the gospel. 
Yet, he felt his own inability to do all that ought to be 
done. He therefore wrote to the Triennial Convention 
asking that they send John M. Peck out to be his co- 
laborer. Peck did come to the West, but he made his 
headquarters in St. Louis, and he worked with the white 
settlers. 

That did not discourage McCoy. He immediately set 
out on horseback for Ohio to obtain supplies, and to 
secure a helper. It was not an easy journey. Swollen 
rivers must be crossed. Nights must be spent in the open, 
unprotected from the elements. Hostile Indians and 
marauding white men must be kept at bay. Water must 
be obtained sometimes from muddy rivers. These were 
hard trips; but as McCoy journeyed through the country 
he sought to tell the gospel story to the wayfarers whom 
he chanced to meet, and to the pioneer settlements through 
which he passed. 

The first teacher that he secured was a young woman, 
who proved to be of some help. Then he engaged Mr. 
Samuel Hill, of Philadelphia. Things took on a much 
happier aspect with these additional workers, but it was 
only for a short time. Patience had still to finish its 
perfect work as these teachers quit despairing of success. 


[ 207 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





So far away seemed the centers of civilization, and so 
difficult did it seem to touch the heart of the Indian, that 
they were very much discouraged. 

When the time came for their annuities the Indians 
would all assemble at the station to receive their money 
from the government. Very few of them ever left, 
however, with any of this money. They spent it all in 
drunken revelry. The curse of strong drink and all the 
attending evils added to the suffering of the servants of 
God. The white men who kept the open brothels on the 
frontier were human parasites who were living off the 
lust of the red men. 

It was not all shadows. God is always enriching the 
experiences of his followers. The blessings of his love 
oftentimes prove themselves in the darker places. One 
of the Delaware women was converted. She was baptized 
in the fall of 1820. This baptism of Mrs. Captain Shane 
proved to be a great encouragement to the work just 
at this time. God was setting his approval on the 
Mission. 

Another source of joy was the cooperation that Gov- 
ernor Cass gave to McCoy. Isaac McCoy had made a 
special trip to tell Governor Cass his story. The gov- 
ernor gave him $450 worth of food and clothing; and 
arrangements were made whereby the government would 
continue to aid the work of the school funds for the 
scholars’ clothing, room, and board, and for the teachers’ 
salaries. 

A very important conference was called in Chicago 
regarding Indian affairs. McCoy was unable to go, but 
he secured Colonel Trimble, of Ohio, to place his ideas 
before the Conference. The government officials at this 


[ 208 ] 





ISAAC McCOY 


ights 


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ion of Ind 


Champ 


(pl eR it 8 ala eh eras pase a 
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Pope heey 





Isaac McCoy 


meeting followed the line of McCoy’s suggestions. They 
gave the Potawatomis a mile square for mission premises, 


to be located under the direction of the President of the United 
States, and held by him as government property. The government 
to place in this section a teacher and a blacksmith, and spend in 
their support $1,000 annually for 15 years. 


A treaty of like nature was granted for the Ottawas, only 
giving them a farmer also. 

The immediate question that arose was, Who would be 
the teacher? The Roman priests told the government 
agents that the Indians wanted a Catholic teacher. At 
the conference, however, were some of the Indians. When 
the proposition was put to them, they asked for McCoy. 
He immediately took charge of the Potawatomis and 
held the position as their teacher until 1828. 


McCoy’s Work at Carey 


There came now a change in the life of McCoy that 
affected his entire future career and the mission of Bap- 
tists to the Indians. He perceived that if he was going 
to secure all the benefits of the Chicago treaty for the 
Indians, he would have to visit Washington. He there- 
fore set out on horseback. He was going not only to 
confer with the government officials, but also to discuss 
future policies with the Board of the Baptist Convention. 

He reached Philadelphia on January 1, 1822. Then 
he went on to Washington and attended the opening of 
the Columbian College. The members of the Board were 
in attendance at these exercises; and so he had oppor- 
tunity to tell them of his plans. They agreed to the 
establishing of three mission stations among three tribes, 


[ 209 | 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





the Ottawas, the Potawatomis, and the Miamis. McCoy 
was authorized to seek out men who could return with 
him, to appoint men who would act as treasurers of the 
funds that would be given, to lay his thoughts before the 
executive branch of the government, and so to obtain 
their financial support and cooperation. 

Secretary of State John C. Calhoun received this zeal- 
ous missionary kindly. He promised to help as he was 
able, and he started by familiarizing himself with the 
legal status of the Indians. McCoy left him with that 
promise, and after a few futile attempts to secure helpers, 
returned to his station. 

He now had Mr. J. Lykins as a teacher. It was his 
delight and joy to baptize Lykins at the age of twenty- 
two, and then by the authority given to him by the Board, 
to appoint Lykins as a missionary. The other helper that 
he had was Mr. Gales Jackson, who entered the Mission 
as a blacksmith. 

McCoy was always going. The immensity of his task 
was growing upon him. To reach and Christianize the 
great company of Indians, to help settle them beyond 
the Mississippi, to drive out the white liquor dealers, 
to help these red men to grow into strong Christian 
Americans, were all aims of this missionary. 

He went to Detroit in July of 1822 to see Governor 
Cass. The Department of War had placed the fulfil- 
ment of the Chicago Treaty in the governor’s hands. 
Governor Cass conferred on McCoy the appointment 
as teacher of the Potawatomis. School buildings were to 
be erected and teachers’ homes to be built on the sites 
chosen by the President of the United States. The schol- 
ars were to be outfitted, and the salaries of teachers to 


[210 ] 


Isaac McCoy 


be paid by the government. The final settlement of all of 
these matters was left to the President of the United 
States. 

Home affairs were a little easier now. Women had 
been found to help his wife with their children. Mrs. 
McCoy was teaching the girls of the school. New mis- 
sionaries were being sent on by the Board. Mr. D. 
Dusenbury, of Zanesville, Ohio, had just arrived to work 
in the mission. All had agreed to a set of rules that 
were to govern their relationship to each other and to 
the missionary work. 

The government was now ready for the missionaries to 
proceed with the work to which they had been appointed. 
It therefore became necessary for them to break up the 
mission at Fort Wayne and settle in the places selected 
by the officials. McCoy and his family settled among the 
Potawatomis, and the Board called the station “ Carey ”’ 
after the illustrious William Carey. This is the site of the 
present town of Niles, Michigan. They also established 
a station among the Ottawas, which they named after 
~ Carey’s companion, “ Thomas.” This is the site of Grand 
Rapids, Michigan. 

These were trying days and weeks. They were now 
almost two hundred miles from civilization. This meant, 
as McCoy wrote, “a four-hundred-mile trip for the three 
wagons that I sent back for supplies.” The houses were 
unfinished, as were the schools, and the winter was bitter 
cold. McCoy wrote, “ We have four fires for fifty of 
us.” On January 27, 1823, they opened the school with 
thirty Indian children. The missionaries not only had 
charge of the spiritual welfare of these children, but 
they had to minister to all the physical wants also. 


[211] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


Things finally came to a crisis. The wagons they had 
sent after food had not returned. By the first week in 
February food became very scarce, and they tried to 
subsist on one meal a day. The corn was all eaten 
up, and still no food came. Cold, hungry, and with not 
enough clothing, suffering became very acute. Jehovah 
Jireh, and God was thanked. 

McCoy had gone without food so much and he was 
so intent on keeping others from starvation, that he was 
a mere skeleton. The Indians around, hearing of their 
need, brought in some corn, and about the middle of 
February the wagons returned. They brought clothing 
from Massachusetts, sheep from Kentucky, money from 
various States, and a large supply of food products. God 
was taking care of his own. 

All desired to put the Mission on a systematic and busi- 
ness basis. The whole McCoy family were experiencing 
a sickness that was due to lack of proper and whole- 
some food. The Board sent word that their funds for 
Indian missions were exhausted. Some of the supplies 
that had been brought on in March came in a damaged 
condition due to the capsizing of a boat. All these things 
had to be remedied if the Mission was going to succeed. 

They put the school on a regular schedule. Prayers 
were always first in the morning. After breakfast came 
the classwork every day except Sundays. Boys and girls 
alike worked at least half of the time that they were at 
the Mission. McCoy found so many of the Indians were 
so improvident, and so willing to beg, that he decided 
that all must share in the work. There were now over 
sixty acres enclosed in the Mission compound, and it was 
not difficult to find plenty for all to do. 


[ 212 ] 


Isaac McCoy 


The Government also aided the school very materially. 
In fact, during all of McCoy’s life he had the cooperation 
of the government in such a way as to make possible his 
many big accomplishments. The Chicago compact was 
the line of procedure, and in every way possible Governor 
Cass sought to further the work of these mission schools. 
He sent an agent to investigate the work that was being 
done at Carey. This man reported, “ The affairs of your 
agency appear to be in the best of condition.” 

The work at Thomas opened with much less ease. Not 
only did physical privation thwart them; but also the 
hostility of the Indians themselves. They were very sus- 
picious of these white men and wondered what they 
would do. It was therefore proposed to start work there 
by establishing a smithery. It was thought that after the 
Ottawas learned that these men were different from the 
other white men who had defrauded them, they would 
attend the school. | 

One of the things that saddened McCoy these days was 
the lack of opportunity of doing evangelistic work. The 
task of keeping the wolf from the door, of superintend- 
ing the building of schoolhouses and homes, the constant 
need of money, seemed to engross all his time and atten- 
tion. Many of the churches in the East were sending 
packages and boxes that never arrived. They might 
reach Detroit or Buffalo; but so uncertain were the lines 
of transportation that much was lost. Cattle were 
drowned; goods were smashed; and McCoy found the 
material needs very urgent. 

In December of 1823 he decided to go to Washington 
again and to intercede with the government. He felt 
sure that when the officials knew of the real condition 


[ 213 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





of affairs, he would receive more aid. When he reached 
the city he found that the Board was in session. It had 
no money to grant; but it appointed two of its num- 
ber, Doctor Staughton and Mr. Luther, to go with him 
to present the matter to the President. Each time 
they called on President James Monroe, he was absent. 
They, therzfore, laid their case before Secretary Calhoun. 
As soon as they had gained an audience with the secre- 
tary, McCoy started to talk. With zeal and eloquence he 
laid the facts before Calhoun. He permitted no interrup- 
tions. He boldly and frankly stated the facts that he 
knew and asked that a new territory be granted the In- 
dians for the purpose of colonization. Calhoun admitted 
the truths of these statements, but told the committee that 
nothing could be done until Congress took a more hearty 
interest in the matter. The visit was not in vain, for 
McCoy obtained $560 for buildings, and an increase of 
$400 a year to the allowance for the Carey mission. 

As long as he was East it was thought best by the 
Board to have McCoy visit the principal cities and report 
his work among the churches. He went to Baltimore, 
Wilmington, Philadelphia, Newark, and New York. He 
was gladly received and most generously helped wherever 
he visited. In New York City he was given a most hearty 
welcome and hospitality by Mr. William Colgate and 
Mr. Spencer Cone. Both of these men became supporters 
of the mission and boosters for the work. He continued 
his tour, coming up to Albany, and then across the State 
of New York through Rochester and Buffalo. Here he 
embarked for Detroit, taking back to the mission over two 
thousand dollars in money and materials. He also carried 
enough guaranties from the government so that the Mis- 


[ 214 | 


Isaac McCoy 


sion among the Potawatomis was never again reduced to 
financial straits. His journey of over thirty-three hun- 
dred miles had been crowned with success. 

Sunshine and shadows were in McCoy’s life constantly. 
He was becoming well enough acquainted with the lan- 
guage so that he visited the near-by villages on Sunday 
afternoons and talked to the men, while Miss Goodridge 
talked to the women about Jesus. In the fall of 1824 
he had the privilege of administering baptism to some 
Indians in the St. Joseph River. The Indians were being 
stirred in their souls; and this, the first baptism ever 
seen in this river, had a tremendous influence on them. 
Writing of the work at this time he said, “ The French 
Catholics stood in the way as they ever had done.” The 
adventurers were always troubling the missionaries. The 
government would give grants of land to the Indians ; and 
these men would persuade the poor red men to exchange 
the land for a few quarts of whisky. This simply con- 
firmed McCoy’s views that the only solution for the prob- 
lem was the colonization of the Indians across the Mis- 
sissippi. 

Two events of very great importance took place in 
1826. First, was the taking of seven Indians and putting 
them into the College at Hamilton, New York. The 
Board had been unwilling to grant McCoy permission to 
take these men because it had no money for that pur- 
pose. With the same indomitable zeal that character- 
ized his whole life he set out, not even having sufficient 
funds for the journey. He reached his destination, se- 
cured one hundred dollars a year for each one of the 
seven men, and raised the rest of the necessary funds 
from the people of Hamilton. It was a daring project. 


[ 215 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


It was freighted with great possibilities. He carried it 
to successful fruition. 

The other event was the appointment by the Board 
to attend to the settling of the Indians in the West. He 
had asked a few months previously, “to go west and 
make myself acquainted with the country and its in- 
habitants west of the State of Missouri, by actually resid- 
ing in it and exploring the region.’ Things were being 
blessed by God at Carey. McCoy attended the confer- 
ence for four weeks which made out a new treaty to the 
Indians. Annuities were obtained for the operations at 
Carey and for the education of the Indians. The Pota- 
watomis, the Ottawas, and the Miamis were all included 
in this new treaty. It meant much more support by the 
government of the mission schools. 

The time had come for a determined stand on the ques- 
tion of colonization. He had talked it, he had pled for it. 
He had ridden on horseback hundreds of miles to obtain 
it, but it seemed as far away as ever. His soul was aflame 
with the newest outrage. Twenty-four hours before 
Governor Cass of Michigan Territory had given the Pota- 
watomis money and goods, and now the whisky-dealers 
had it all. Something must be done at once. He mounted 
his horse and started eastward on October 15, 1827. He 
met the Board in Boston, and they agreed to do what 
he had asked them to do four years previous. They 
memorialized Congress, “to bestow its favor upon the 
enterprise, and to appoint him an agent to visit the West 
with a view to making it successful.” 

On to Washington went McCoy. He had a pamphlet 
that he had written and printed, and he placed it in the 
hands of every Congressman. He held interviews with 


[ 216 ] 


Isaac McCoy 





the President of the United States, John Quincy Adams, 
and the Secretary of War. His efforts were successful. 
The President appointed a commission to explore the 
territory west of St. Louis and bring back a report. 
McCoy with a delegation of the Potawatomis and of the 
Ottawas was appointed to accompany this expedition. 
The Baptist missionary had won the day. 

Nothing could stop him. In the summer of 1828 Mc- 
Coy with a few Indians went through the wilderness to 
St. Louis in fifteen days. When he reached there he 
found the rest of the delegation awaiting a party of the 
Chickasaws. The men with him had never been away 
from home for so long a time, and they were impatient 
to proceed. He obtained permission from General Clark, 
and they set out. He came into contact with the Osages, 
and the Kausaus tribes. He discovered these Indians to 
be in a semibarbaric state, and seemingly to have no 
moral sense. 

When he returned to St. Louis he laid all his findings 
before the officers of the commission. He sent the In- 
dians home who had come with him from Michigan, 
and he went out again—this time with the expedition 
of thirty-six men. They had reached the extreme west- 
ern part of Missouri, traveling on horseback, and were 
journeying among the Shawanoes. Suddenly McCoy’s . 
horse made a misstep and fell, rolling upon his leg and 
foot. In writing of this injury, Walter Wyeth in his 
book on “Early Indian Missions” says, “ The injury 
received to the limb and side caused much pain for several 
days, and was the cause of much suffering to the end of 
his life.” 

The expedition went as far west as the confluence of 


[217] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





the Arkansas and the Verdigris Rivers. McCoy learned 
that the Congregational Board had begun work with the 
Osages in 1820, but that they had abandoned it. Instead 
of dampening the ardor of this fearless disciple of Christ, 
this seemed to quicken his determination to start mission 
work. He selected Fayette as a spot for a temporary 
headquarters until he could erect a home in Indian Ter- 
ritory. 

With the coming of winter the expedition broke up. 
McCoy went to Lexington, Kentucky, where his family 
had moved awaiting their migration to the West. After 
a short stay at home he pressed on to Washington. He 
desired to make a personal report of the expedition, and 
to speed up the transferring of all Indian tribes to the new 
territory west of the Mississippi River. Government of- 
ficials listened to this Baptist missionary with respect, 
and accepted his deductions with the purpose of carrying 
them out. One writer says: ‘The administrations of 
James Monroe and John Q. Adams had been favorable 
to colonization, but Andrew Jackson’s was actively so; 
he used his authority to move the Cherokees from 
Georgia.” To President Jackson did McCoy appeal; and 
from him he received a most hearty indorsement. In 
fact, the work of McCoy was receiving more help and 
assistance from the government than from the Baptist 
Board. The overseas reports of Judson were so thrill- 
ing to American Baptists that they were inclined to ignore 
the missionary work at home. 


Home at Fayette 


June 1, 1829, the Lykins and McCoy families started 
west. They reached Fayette ten weeks later, one hun- 


[ 218 } 


Isaac McCoy 





dred and seventy miles west of St. Louis. He was 
determined to make a personal survey of the whole terri- 
tory so that he might know how to advise the government. 
Out of his own limited resources he paid for another 
trip over this country in order that he might decide where 
to locate the seat of government. He made an accurate 
map of the entire country, and a very thoughtful anal- 
ysis of the entire situation. When he reached Washing- 
ton with this information he was given an opportunity to 
present his findings. President Jackson and Mr. McLean, 
who was chairman of the committee of the House on 
Indian Affairs, aided him in every possible way that 
the case of the Indians might become the property of all 
the Senators and Representatives in Washington. Presi- 
dent Jackson offered McCoy ten thousand dollars a year 
to be used for Indian reform. This he refused, writing, 
“The tribes of the Indians are not judiciously distributed, 
and it would be impossible to expend the money so that 
it would be beneficial to all.” This disappointed Presi- 
dent Jackson; but he was determined to keep in close 
touch with McCoy. He had him appointed surveyor of 
the territory assigned to the tribe of Delawares. This 
position McCoy gladly accepted. 

Before returning home McCoy decided to have a talk 
with the Board; and also to visit his friends in New 
York. He was not pleased with the way things were 
developing. He considered very seriously resigning as 
a missionary, for wrote he, “I am hampered by this 
connection.” Some of these thoughts were in his mind 
as he journeyed from Philadelphia to New York. This 
part of the trip was made by stage. As the stage was 
proceeding a very serious accident occurred. The stage 


[219 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





tipped over, and he was thrown violently forward. His 
shoulders, ribs, and chest were severely injured, and as 
he lay in the home of his friend, Dr. S. H. Cone, of New 
York, it seemed doubtful whether he would recover. 

He was well taken care of these days. His tired frame 
was given a much needed rest. His friends who had 
often desired to express their love and appreciation of all 
he had done, were now given an opportunity of which 
they gladly availed themselves. He never regained his 
natural shape; but he did develop a greater poise of life. 
When he started for home again it was with a firm deter- 
mination to’remain as a missionary of the Board and to 
seek in everything that he did and said to bring the In- 
dians into the full joy of divine fellowship. 

Seven long months had the father and husband been 
gone. Separation and loneliness was ever the part of 
the wives of these pioneer missionaries. Mrs. McCoy 
proved a true faithful helpmate for her courageous hus- 
band. She was as determined as he that their children 
should have all the educational advantages of that day. 
Their eldest daughter had married Lykins. Their two 
oldest boys were training to be physicians. One of them 
had died of fever on the journey to Fayette, and now the 
other brother was taken by death. The home was shrouded 
in sorrow. Four children had these missionary parents 
buried since they had started in to help the Indians. 
Within the next year two of the younger children died; 
so that by 1831 they had given six children as living 
sacrifices that the Indians might hear the gospel of “ the 
blessed God.” 

It was a tremendous price to pay. Never did these 
faithful folks think of turning back. Bravely they con- 


[ 220 ] 


Isaac McCoy 





tinued onward. Eyes might be dimmed with tears of 
sorrow. Hearts might be burdened with grief. Lives 
might feel the pinch of poverty. They were following 
a divine leader who had “sounded forth the trumpet 
that shall never call retreat.” 

After the death of his son Josephus, McCoy stayed 
home and wrote on Indian affairs. He sent these docu- 
ments east, and they were published in Philadelphia and 
Washington papers. His government appointment 
awaited fulfilment, so immediately he started off on his 
surveying trip among the Delawares. He took with him 
fifteen soldiers from Fort Leavenworth, for he knew that 
he must go among the hostile Pawnees. He wrote of this 
trip: 

I was absent in the wilderness for one hundred and three days, 


ninety-six of which I spent without a roof. Every night I posted 
a sentry to keep watch. 


On Osage River, in Indian Territory, 1832 


It was very evident that they must break up their home 
at Fayette and settle in Indian Territory. It was, there- 
fore, decided that Lykins would locate in the northern 
part and McCoy in the southern. It was a three-hundred- 
mile journey for the McCoy family, but they made it in 
twenty-three days. They rented a shanty on the banks of 
the Osage River where they made their home, while the 
father pressed on to determine a location for the Chicka- 
saws. He was ever eager that all of the Indian tribes 
should be moved to this territory as soon as possible. 

February 1, 1832, he started on his two-thousand-mile 
trip to Washington. No matter how cold the weather, 
how swollen the stream, or how dangerous the territory 


[ 221 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





through which he passed, he pressed on. He had written 
a new document which he desired to place in the hands 
of the national leaders at Washington. In it he wrote: 

I tell you there will be a time when the people for whom I am 
pleading will be present, not to solicit your assistance, but to meet 
their destiny. How shall we then bear the reproaches of that 


neglected people, or hope for pardon from our God if we refuse 
to do them good now? 


During his visit in Washington he held a conference with 
President Jackson and the Secretary of War regarding 
the Indian affairs. He left Washington much gratified 
because of a stipulation in a new Indian treaty, 


providing for the expenditure of three thousand dollars per year 
for twenty years, under the direction of the President of the 
United States, for teaching their children. 


McCoy Opposed Because Indians Were a “ Dying Race” 


McCoy went to Boston to attend a meeting of the 
Triennial Baptist Convention. He found both pleasure 
and sorrow in this meeting. New missionaries were ap- 
pointed to work among the Indians; but open opposition 
developed. Much was said in the meeting of the useless- 
ness of spending money to try to Christianize a “ dying 
race.’ Many of the men of that day looked upon Indian 
missions as a waste of money, time, and men. “ For,” 
said they, ‘‘ these people will soon be gone, and why give 
to a hopeless cause?” 

The journey home, however, was full of joy, for new 
missionaries accompanied him, and he had obtained added 
support from the government. As soon as he reached 
home he bought a tract of land opposite Kansas City, 
Missouri, and built a home. Off he started now to locate 


[ 222 ] 


Isaac McCoy 





the new mission stations which the Board had given 
him authority to establish. After three hundred miles 
on horseback he selected the ground for work among the 
Choctaws, and settled Rev. D. Lewis among them. This 
tireless man never stopped, but on he went. On Sep- 
tember 9, 1832, he with Rev. and Mrs. Lewis, Rev. J. 
Davis, and three Negroes, organized the Muscogee Bap- 
tist Church, the first Baptist church that was organized in 
Indian Territory. Before two months had passed almost 
fifty people were baptized and joined the Muscogee 
Church. God set his approval on this new venture of 
faith. 

Finances were always short at the McCoy home. He 
received pay from the government for the work that he 
did, but this money he invested in the Mission, Of this, 
McCoy wrote: 


All my extra earnings I was employing in the support of the 
Mission; I might have preferred a just claim on the Board for 
support; but this I declined. 


Many times he found it necessary to borrow money in 
order that he might secure the necessary food for his 
family. He and his wife cultivated their small* plot of 
ground. They also took in a few boarders. McCoy 
obtained a position in one of the stores posting its books. 
They, however, were very much troubled because of the 
necessity of spending so much time in seeking to supply 
their material needs when the Indians around them were 
dying without Christ. They therefore resolved to abandon 
all business that might interfere with the missionary 
work, and to sell everything they owned except the bare 
necessities for carrying on. They never lost sight of the 


[ 223 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


object of their mission, namely, ‘“ The salvation of the 
souls of the aborigines.’ It grieved McCoy when he 
learned that many Baptists were complaining of the way 
in which he was gaining his support, when they them- 
selves would not give sufficiently for him to spend all 
his time in missionary work. Neglect of support from 
the home base and hardships on the frontier did not 
change the policy of this man of God, who clung to his 
deathless ideal of a saved Indian race. 


McCoy’s Plan Accepted by the Government 


In 1833 he made another tour for the government. This 
was a trip of much hardship as the winter was very cold, 
twenty to thirty degrees below zero, and the marauding 
bands of Indians proved very troublesome. When he 
reached home he found a summons to go to Washington, 
so he left home on February 11, 1834. He was very 
much rejoiced to learn that the Secretary of War had 
submitted a plan to Congress for the organization and 
establishing of Indian affairs which he himself had pro- 
posed several years previous, but which had been dropped 
at that time because of opposition. He sought earnestly 
during “this Eastern trip to secure money for a printing- 
press. This he finally was able to purchase, and on March 
1, 1835, the first newspaper ever published in the Indian 
language was printed by him in the Shawnee language. 

These were the days when the influence of McCoy at 
Washington was at its height. This lowly Baptist mis- 
sionary who was called by his brethren “a boarding school 
agent,’ was thought of by the government as a man 
whose counsel and advice on Indian affairs was of the 
utmost value. Through his written tracts and documents, 


[ 224 ] 


Isaac McCoy 





and through his personal interviews with men of the 
highest national standing, he had emerged as the most 
important figure in Indian affairs in this country. It is 
of little wonder, therefore, that almost every year found 
him in Washington consulting and advising. 

He had ridden thousands of miles on horseback. He 
had been instant in season and out of season. He had 
braved the elements in all sorts of weather. He had 
faced men who were his vigorous opponents, and by 
his passionate earnestness he had won them to his cause. 
He had suffered two severe accidents; and now, on the 
way back from Washington in 1837 he was prostrate 
with sickness not over eighty miles from home. Mrs. 
McCoy came after him, and took him home in a carriage. 
His constitution was breaking. He had never been a 
large man, though he was tall. The effect of the years 
he had spent in the open in wind and rain, mid ice and 
cold, mid sand and heat, began to show on him. He who 
had not spared himself, but who had gladly given without 
any known reserve, came to the end of his strength. 
Doctor Bolles wrote of him at this time, ‘““ He with such 
a heart and such a hope loved not his own life unto 
death.” 

McCoy continued his trips to Washington until 1842. 
Things were happening there that rejoiced his heart. 
Treaties were being passed, and agreements were being 
made that were all according to his purposes for the In- 
dians. The government had asked him to write a bill 
stating in it his plan for the organization of Indian Ter- 
ritory. This met with such hearty approval by the officials 
that they commissioned him to visit the tribes now in this 
territory. So he bravely set out and went to all the 


[ 225] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





council-fires of the entire field. He was more than re- 
paid for his work in the gratitude of the Indians and 
in their acquiescence in his plan. In 1838, therefore, 
the bill for organizing this territory was passed, and 
the Baptist missionary’s wise plans were made the law 
of the land. 

In all this work, until almost the end of his life, he was 
harassed by the indifference of many Baptists and some 
members of the Board. This was a continual irritation 
to this man who was giving his all that the Indians might 
be saved. Doctor Bolles in writing of this said: 


Whether we shall ever be able to do the Indians permanent good 
is more and more doubtful. Shall we give up all for loss? No. 
Should we be forced to hold, let us die with eyes fixed toward 
this wretched race. 


McCoy continued on. His home, his heart, and his 
purpose were open to the Indians’ needs. He might be 
without the very necessities of life; but these spiritual 
wards of his must be supplied. These red men knew that 
he was their friend. They came to him with their family 
troubles and their tribal difficulties. His decisions were 
always final. He was their friend, and he would decide 
in the way that was best. 


Secretary of the American Indian Association 


He had sought for years to have a department of In- 
dian Missions in the Triennial Baptist Convention. His 
brethren could see no necessity for such a movement, and 
they had opposed it. In 1842 a special meeting was called 
to decide “the propriety of forming in the valley of the 
Mississippi an American Indian Association.” As soon 


[ 226 ] 


Isaac McCoy 


as he heard of this call he made plans to attend the meet- 
ing. When he stood up that day in the council of his 
brethren he was not an attractive figure; but when he 
began to speak that was forgotten. The pathos of his 
narrative and the eloquence of his presentation carried 
the day. The organization was perfected, and he was 
made the first corresponding secretary and agent with 
headquarters at Louisville, Kentucky. 

The days of his extensive traveling were over. The 
sacrifices of Mrs. McCoy and himself had finally reaped 
a reward. They moved back to civilization to plead more 
earnestly for the Indians, but they left ten children under 
the sod. He poured out his soul for four years in his 
new task. With unremitting toil he made out the annual 
reports and wrote addresses to the denomination. His 
hand was never still, his voice was never quiet in seeking 
to redress the wrongs done to the Indian. They must be 
reached for Christ. 2 


The Passing of McCoy 


He was sixty-three years old. He had served as secre- 
tary for four years. He had enjoyed his work, but his 
friends noticed that he was failing. He was suffering a 
great deal these days. One day it was reported that he 
was sick in bed. They waited for news, but none came. 
As they sought his home they found all was quiet. Mrs. 
McCoy came to the door and asked them to pray. He 
lingered but a short time, dying on June 21, 1846. Just 
before his death he called to him the faithful wife who 
had been his true companion and gave her his final mes- 
sage to the Triennial Convention, “Tell the brethren 
never to let the Indian mission decline.” 


[ 227 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





A Champion of Indian Rights 


Doctor Cone, his life-long friend, mourned his loss. 
Their friendship had been very deep and close. They 
had weathered many a storm together. In writing of 
McCoy afterward Doctor Cone classed him with Eliot 
and Brainerd. He had proved himself a true and trusted 
friend to the first Americans. 

Over McCoy’s grave is this inscription: 


For nearly thirty years his entire time and energies were devoted 
to the civil and religious improvement of the aborigines of this 
country. He projected and founded the plan of their colonization, 
their only hope, and the imperishable monument of his wisdom 
and benevolence. 


Still his summons rings out. Still the Indian continues 
to increase in numbers. Still many thousands of them 
have not even heard the gospel story. 

The challenge is not in past accomplishment but in 
present need. The daring of such consecration is a vital 
summons to Baptists. He who was willing to go on 
almost alone in his obedience to divine call, has put his 
impress on every loyal heart. Folks opposed him think- 
ing that the Indian was doomed to extinction. People 
talked against the Indian Mission in his day, saying that 
it was unimportant. He never permitted himself to be 
drawn aside in vain debate over the question. He con- 
tinued on following Him whom he loved; only desiring 
that these Indians should hear of Him who is “ altogether 
lovely, and the fairest of ten thousand.” 


[ 228 ] 


IX 


JOHN MASON PECK 


OUTLINE OF CHAPTER IX 


. John M. Peck born in Litchfield, Connecticut, October 21, 1789. 


2. Changes in Peck’s life in 1807 


10. 


11. 


12. 
13. 


(1) Began teaching school. 
(2) Converted and joined the Congregational Church. 


. Married Miss Sally Paine, May 8, 1809. 
. Joined the New Durham Baptist Church, New York State, 


September, 1811. 


. Early preaching: 


(1) First sermon, October, 1811. 
(2) First pastorate, at Catskill, New York. 
(3) Influenced by Luther Rice. 


. The eventful time of preparation: 


(1) Studied under Dr. W. Staughton, at Philadelphia. 
(2) Welch and Peck commissioned as missionaries to the 

West in May of 1817 by the Triennial Convention. 
(3) Started West on July 28, 1817. 


. Beginnings in the West: 


(1) First converts, April, 1818. 
(2) Peck constantly traveling, preaching, and founding 
schools. 


. The work at Rock Springs, Illinois: 


(1) Started in the Spring of 1822. 
(2) Antimissionary influence. 
(3) A conference with President John Quincy Adams in 1826. 


. Establishment of three great projects: 


(1) Shurtleff College. 
(2) A religious paper. 
(3) The settling of circuit-riders. 
The visit of Dr. J. Going in 1831; the projecting of The 
American Baptist Home Mission Society. 
Peck a great organizer and traveler: 
(1) Helped to organize the Illinois Baptist Education So- 
ciety in 1836. 
(2) Helped in the organization of the American Baptist 
Education Society in 1853. 
(3) Established the system of depositories for the Publica- 
tion Society. 
Peck’s homegoing, March 14, 1858. 
Christian pioneer of the Mississippi Valley. 


JOHN MASON PECK 


“T can do all things in him that strengtheneth me.’—Philippians 
aL Os 


Birth and Early Years 


During the early days of American Independence John 
Peck was born. George Washington had been inaugu- 
rated as the first President of the United States. The 
Thirteen Colonies had elected the commander of the 
colonial army to the position of leadership. John Mason 
Peck began his career on October 21, 1789, in the same 
year that Washington began his presidency. One had 
for his task the molding of a nation out of thirteen 
separate colonies. The other was God’s ambassador to 
the Mississippi Valley. 

Peck traced his ancestry back to almost the beginning 
of Puritan New England. His parents were of old 
Yankee stock, and they reared John, their only child, in 
the fear and admonition of the Lord. He had his daily 
chores to do. Early in the morning work began, and late 
into the evening did it continue on his father’s farm in 
Litchfield, Connecticut. The training for patient endur- 
ance was being built into the fabric of his body. 

It was a life fraught with many difficulties and hard- 
ships. The sturdiness of his New England ancestry, 
however, was flowing in his veins. He enjoyed mastering 
the problems that confronted him. The challenge of 
wresting a living from nature was ever meeting him, and 
he delighted in accepting it and in coming out victorious. 


[ 231 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





Early in life Peck showed eagerness for knowledge. 
He attended and graduated from the village school, but 
he desired to continue his education.. He obtained books 
wherever possible; and after the evening chores he sat 
and read them. When the days were long in the winter, 
and the weather was cold, he sat by the fire planning and 
dreaming of the future. 


Changes in Peck’s Life in 1807 


When he was eighteen years of age two changes came 
into his life. First, he began teaching school. He found 
it difficult to give instruction in grammar and in writing 
because he himself was very poor in these two subjects. 
Otherwise he proved to be a good teacher, for he had a 
very logical mind and a strong personality. The children 
liked the positiveness of Peck, he made his point so clear. 

The second change was his conversion. He had been 
concerned about his relationship to God for some time. 
It all seemed a mystery. A revival began in the com- 
munity in 1807; and he, with the other young people, at- 
tended the meeting. He began an immediate search for 
God. He desired that peace of which men were speaking. 
He was very much concerned and came every night to 
hear the preacher. He was seeking the light. At the end 
of the week he found “The Light of the world.” John 
Peck surrendered himself to Jesus. 

What should he do for Christ? Whither should he go 
in his name? He was not content to enjoy God’s peace 
alone; he must share it. The wonderful salvation that 
was his was worthy of promoting in other lives. He 
straightway sought channels of service. He was abiding 
in the vine, and he desired to bring forth much fruit. 


[ 232 ] 


John Mason Peck 


He joined the Congregational church of the Connec- 
ticut village. He had given his all to the Master whom 
he loved, and now he eagerly grasped every opportunity 
of spreading the gospel. The salary of a school-teacher 
was not sufficient to keep him, so he stayed on the farm. 


Marriage 


On May 8, 1809, he was married to Miss Sally Paine. 
She proved to be a true heroine. Miss Paine had been 
born in Green County, New York; but her parents had 
migrated to Litchfield many years previous. She was 
also a member of the Congregational church. 

They were both of the blood of the early pioneers. 
They both had been reared as citizens of a Puritan com- 
munity. They both were Congregationalists; and they 
had been taught to respect the teaching and preaching of 
their minister. The church believed and practised infant 
sprinkling. Should their baby boy be sprinkled? They 
had never thought seriously of the baptismal question. 
They had seen the ordinance administered, but this was 
their own child. What would the child attain by sprin- 
kling ? 

They were so troubled that they wrote a letter to Doc- 
tor Lyman Beecher. They stated their case in full and 
asked his advice. Before he answered, however, they 
came to a decision. Their baby should not be sprinkled 
to satisfy the church, the neighbors, or the family. If 
there was no teaching in the Word of God for the doc- 
trine, then it should not be carried out on their child. 

Shortly after this momentous decision the Pecks moved 
to New York. They took a tract of land in the Big 
Hollow Settlement where there were only eight other 


[ 233 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


families. The spot was near Windham, New York, and 
was but a small clearing surrounded by big trees. They 
settled here in the spring of 1811. 


Joins the Baptist Church 


Where was the nearest church? Down the Batavian 
turnpike at New Durham the Baptist church held service 
in the schoolhouse once a month. When they learned 
that there would be a meeting the following Sunday they 
looked forward to it, and gladly attended it. A month 
later, in September of 1811, they were received and bap- 
tized into the Baptist church. Their conversion had been 
whole-hearted ; and now, with equal eagerness they joined 
in the activities of the small church. 

John Peck was still reserving one confession. He 
would not profess until he was sure that he could be faith- — 
ful. To a mind so clear and logical as his it was the 
grossest effrontery to attempt to declare that he would 
maintain a position unless he was willing to give his 
life, if necessary, for that purpose. 

He had thought for many months about this problem. 
Since the day, four years previous, that he had given 
himself to Jesus, he had battled. Christ was victorious! 
Peck valiantly surrendered. At the October meeting of 
the church Peck declared that he was ready to go wher- 
ever sent to preach the gospel. 

The conviction of his heart had become the confession 
of his lips. The call of God had been answered with the 
consecration of man. The challenge of the unseen had 
been met by the audible declaration of purpose. The 
step was irrevocable. He had determined to preach the 
gospel of Jesus. 


[ 234 ] 


John Mason Peck 


Early Preaching 


His friends urged him to start at once. He preached 
his first sermon, therefore, from the last words of Jesus, 
“Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every 
creature.” It was his first message; but for forty-six 
years his voice was never silent in telling the gospel. 
These early pioneers sat in the small schoolhouse and 
listened. They were few in number. They were poor 
in this world’s goods. They understood but little of what 
was transpiring on that day. God, however, had touched 
his soul. He had fired the purpose of this man. God 
had summoned Peck into his service. 

Several years intervened between the day of this first 
sermon and the time of his missionary commission. The 
way seemed somewhat intricate, and the road seemed 
long. The future was not always glowing, and the out- 
look not always bright. Slowly but surely, however, God 
led Peck from the wayside settlement in New York to 
the heart of the Middle West. 

His first pastorate was at Catskill, New York. The 
little church that he had joined had licensed him to preach, 
and he began the upward climb toward his life of service. 
Poverty had been his portion as a youth, and so now 
it did not overcome him. He received only $61.95 during 
the first year of his ministry. In order to help along his 
finances he also taught in the village school. 

God was training his man for real pioneering activity. 
He was constantly permitting him to be tested that his 
physical muscles might become as steel, that his mental 
acumen might be ever alert, and that his spiritual conse- 
cration might be very thorough. God had a gigantic task 


[ 235 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


for Peck to perform, and he wanted him empowered and 
trained for his service. 

After serving in Catskill for a few months he moved to 
Amenia, New York. Many things transpired in rapid 
succession here that changed the course of his life, and 
sent him out to the great West. He had begun his 
itinerating during his first pastorate, walking many miles 
to tell the good news of salvation. In this new pastorate 
he journeyed still farther. He began riding horseback ; 
and no historian has yet computed the thousands of miles 
that he rode in the next forty years in his efforts to spread 
the gospel. 

During these years in Amenia he had opportunity to 
continue his studying. He rejoiced in this chance of 
acquiring more information, and he gladly availed him- 
self of it. He studied under Mr. Barnes, who was prin- 
cipal of the Dutchess Academy at Poughkeepsie, New 
York. 

Peck soon came into contact with a companion of 
Adoniram Judson. Luther Rice had gone to India under 
the Congregational Board. He had become a Baptist be- 
cause of studying of the word of God. He had been 
baptized in India; and then he had returned to rouse the 
Baptists to missionary zeal. As soon as the mind of Peck 
heard the voice of Luther Rice appealing for the vast 
heathen world, it knew that a crisis had come. Peck had 
listened to Rice at an Association meeting, and then he 
took him to his home. His heart burned with love, and 
his purpose was fired with determination as Rice pictured 
India’s needs to him. He would go. He would follow 
wherever the Lord needed. Rice, the flaming evangel 
who did more than any other man to stir the Baptist 


[ 236 ] 


John Mason Peck 


churches of America to their glorious missionary privi- 
lege, had helped turn Peck’s enthusiasm into missionary 
channels. 

During the next few weeks Peck rode all over central 
New York pleading with the Baptist churches to support 
foreign missions. In three weeks’ time he had ridden 
four hundred and forty miles and had made nineteen 
addresses. He rejoiced at this opportunity of thus serv- 
ing the missionary cause. He had hoped at times to go 
to the Far East with Judson; but as he grew older he 
thought more, and talked more of the West. He wrote to 
a friend during these days, “I shall rejoice 1f God opens 
the way for me to go west.” 


The Eventful Time of Preparation 


In the fall of 1815 he wrote Rice a letter and asked 
him if he thought the denomination would send a mis- 
sionary to the West. He further asked him what quali- 
fications such a man would need. Rice answered that a 
missionary would probably be sent to the West; and that 
whoever went ought to have a good understanding of 
English and of as many other things as possible. Imme- 
diately on the receipt of this letter Peck made his decision. 
He would go west as a missionary. He therefore decided 
to leave his wife and children and go to school for a 
year in Philadelphia. On the way to the city of brotherly 
love he stopped over in New York City. Here for the 
first time in his life he preached in a city pulpit. This 
was a unique experience to this farmer preacher, and he 
often looked back upon it with much interest. 

John Peck entered school at the age of twenty-six. 
He had been preaching for five years. The sphere of 


[ 237 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





his activity had been large. Now, however, he came 
into an entirely new environment and surrounding. He 
entered the school taught by Dr. William Staughton. 
There were five men in the school, and they all stayed in 
Staughton’s home. 

What a marvelous leading of the Holy Spirit of God 
was here evident. Peck had come to Doctor Staughton’s 
home at the suggestion of Luther Rice. Doctor Staugh- 
ton was pastor of the Sansom Street Baptist Church of 
Philadelphia. He had come to America about twenty- 
three years before. He had been a member of that group 
of Englishmen who had met in 1792 in Kettering, and had 
organized the Baptist Missionary Society. He had taken 
part in the campaign in sending William Carey to India. 
He was to have a part in the training of the Baptist 
pioneer missionary of the great Middle West. 

Doctor Staughton himself did all the teaching. He 
taught Latin, Greek, Hebrew, homiletics, pastoral the- 
ology, and other subjects, including some of the sciences. 
On Sundays the students went out to practise. Peck 
preached every Sunday. He was in much demand, not 
so much because of his oratorical ability as because of 
his intense earnestness. He believed in his message with 
all of his heart, and he was always glad to tell of his 
blessed Redeemer. 

It was always a problem for him to secure enough 
money. In January of 1817 he was concerned for fear 
that he would have to quit school because of financial 
stress. His friends, however, learning of his difficulties, 
raised a sum of money and gave it to him. God was 
guiding his workman on to his appointed task. 

In the school was a young man named Welch. He 


[ 238 ] 


John Mason Peck 





and Peck soon became fast friends. Together they at- 
tended medical lectures. Together they prayed through 
many of their problems. Together they finally went to 
the village of St. Louis as missionaries. 

Another source of blessing and inspiration to Peck 
was the fellowship of many of the prominent men of the 
Baptist denomination. Luther Rice, the man who had 
already influenced him, continued to be a source of 
strength to him. He was encouraged in his ambitions 
and led to believe that when the time came the Baptists 
would really send him out as their missionary. 

With much fear and trembling he and Welch looked 
forward to the meeting of the Triennial Baptist Con- 
vention. It was to meet in Philadelphia in May, 1817, 
and upon the decision of that body depended the future 
of their hopes. Would they send them to the West? or 
would they vote to let the matter rest? It was a momen- 
tous issue to these two young men. It was a time when 
the Christian future of the great Middle West was being 
thought out. 

The Convention days finally came. Foreign missions 
had been the great key-note since the baptism of Judson 
and his adoption as a Baptist missionary. The need and 
call of the West, however, was well presented. It was 
voted to incorporate with the Foreign Board portions of 
the American continent and have them known as “ Do- 
mestic Missions.’ This was the real beginning of the 
Home Mission Society, though many years elapsed before 
the formal organization took place. 

After the Convention adjourned the Foreign Board 
met to decide what course to pursue. Their decision was 
made. The die was cast. The anxiety of the young men 


[ 239 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


gave way to jubilation. On May 18, 1817, Peck and 
Welch were publicly dedicated as missionaries in the 
Sansom Street Church for work in the Western mission 
field. They were to be missionaries to the new “ Mis- 
souri territory.” The Board voted to set apart $1,000 for 
the support and expenses of this new enterprise. 

Two months passed before the start was really made, 
days of eager service and tearful good-bys. Associations 
must be visited. Churches must hear the news. The 
Baptists’ work for their homeland had begun. The day 
of home missions had arrived. Peck’s whole soul went 
out in his talks and messages. Baptists were set on fire 
by the zeal and passionate earnestness of this young man, 
who with his friend Welch were going a thousand miles 
west to start missionary work. 

The last speech was made. The final farewell had taken 
place. On July 28, 1817, Mr. and Mrs. Welch, Mr. and 
Mrs. J. M. Peck, and their three children started west- 
ward from their old home in Connecticut. Their jour- 
ney was a tremendous undertaking. They were going 
over one thousand miles from home and friends to carry 
the gospel message. They had no surety that they would 
ever return. Their missionary trip seemed as far to the 
New England people as Judson’s had looked to his com- 
pany only five years previous. 


Beginnings in the West 


It was a long, tiresome journey. Over four months were 
consumed before they came to the great Father of Waters. 
On December first they entered St. Louis. It was a 
typical frontier town. Expenses were high and morals 
low. It was a trading-post, and a great mixture of nation- 


[ 240 ] 





JOHN MASON PECK 


ian Pioneer of the Mississippi Valley 








John Mason Peck 


alities was there. It was the boast of a wicked and un- 
godly group of its citizens, “The Sabbath never has 
and never will cross the Mississippi.” The missionaries, 
however, had come. The missionaries stayed! 

The taunts of men meant nothing to the man who 
had been sent out by God. With grim determination 
Peck rented the rear of a store building and began hold- 
ing services. He found a French Catholic church in the 
community, but otherwise the whole city seemed to be 
given up to all manner of licentiousness. Even the French 
who were in the city attended their church but occasion- 
ally; and they seemed to be no different from the rest. 

The work of these missionaries brought a harvest. In 
April of 1818 a large crowd gathered on the banks of 
the Mississippi. The first baptismal service was to take 
place. Peck baptized two converts that day. Many had 
told him to beware of what might happen; but the crowd, 
though it was large, listened very thoughtfully to the mes- 
sage that was given. 

Peck with his zeal raised three thousand dollars from 
the community for a church. He organized a Sunday 
school of one hundred scholars. He had already opened 
a day-school, and he now had over forty pupils paying 
for their training. Nor was Peck content to stay in the 
city. He began riding into Missouri and Illinois and 
founding schools. Three years after he reached St. Louis 
fifty schools were in operation; and he was going without 
any attempt to conserve his strength, but with all his 
thought on reaching the religiously destitute. 

He was a great traveler. In the month of September 
of that first year in the West he traveled four hundred 
miles on horseback. He talked with everybody on the 


[ 241 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





road concerning the way of light. He was constantly 
seeking openings for Sunday schools. Wherever pos- 
sible he bound together the Baptist churches in an Asso- 
ciation. He strove to secure pastors who would take 
charge of several churches and keep definite preaching 
appointments at various stations. He was always on the 
lookout for men who were willing to do colportage work, 
and become Baptist circuit-riders. He found many of 
the leaders of the frontier community bigoted and wicked 
men. In the minister’s office were many untrained and 
ignorant men who opposed the establishing of Sunday 
schools, and who did not believe either in education or 
in missions. 

Often on these travels his horse would lose his way. 
He would give the animal free rein and continue to read. 
Sometimes he met encouragement, and sometimes there 
was fierce opposition. He became inured to the cold and 
to sleeping on the hard ground. He suffered hunger and 
fatigue ; but there was no cessation of his activity. When 
the Indians, the hunters, the hardy pioneers, and the 
squatters heard him preach, they listened eagerly to the 
story of Jesus. He found the people hungry for vital 
Christianity. | 

In the latter part of 1818 he was gone for two months 
on a trip. He met two men on this journey who en- 
couraged him. First was the famous Daniel Boone, who 
was then eighty years old. He was entertained in the 
home of the old pioneer. The other man was Lewis 
Williams, a consecrated minister. “ Without money and 
without price,’ he was going from village to village tell- 
ing of the unsearchable riches of Christ. In writing of 
him Peck said, “ He is a man of heavenly spirit.” 


[ 242 ] 


John Mason Peck 


Peck was eager to establish a school for higher educa- 
tion. He moved to St. Charles, twenty miles northeast 
of St. Louis. He there joined forces with Rev. Craig 
who already had a school. They founded St. Charles 
Academy, and started in to work with forty pupils. This 
venture proved unsuccessful mostly because of the dis- 
honesty of his partner, though partially due to the fact 
that it was very irksome to Peck to be confined to the 
classroom when he would much prefer to do pioneer work. 

A very severe crisis came to the work in 1820. Peck 
was sick with a bilious attack. His children were all ill. 
His oldest son was dead. Home problems were very 
acute. He felt the need of a friendly hand. He wanted 
sympathy and encouragement. Instead, while still sick, 
he received word that the Baptist Convention would be 
unable to keep him any longer, for lack of funds. 

The Triennial Convention had held a meeting, and the 
record shows, “ Having listened with concern to some anti- 
mission complaints from the West, then proceeded to 
direct the Board to discontinue the missions at St. Louis.” 
Peck had been severely criticized for his pioneering ac- 
tivities. The folks said he should have covered less terri- 
tory and been more thorough in his work. These were 
but factors, and not the ultimate causes of the action of 
the Convention. Two facts seemed to bear the most in- 
fluence. First, the enthusiasm over the work in Burma 
made Western missions pale into insignificance. Sec- 
ondly, the development of Columbian College at Washing- 
ton, D. C., seemed to engross the interest of Baptists. 

Peck felt this blow very keenly. With all means of sup- 
port gone, whither should he go? What should he do? 
The Board had suggested that he could go to Fort Wayne 


[ 243 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





and join forces with Isaac McCoy; but he did not have 
sufficient funds. They also wrote for Welch to stay in 
St. Louis, but this he could not afford to do. It never 
entered the mind of this intrepid hero that he might re- 
turn to civilization. He had put his hand to the plow 
of the Western needs, and he was determined to follow 
it to the end of the furrow. He wrote to the Board that 
he would stay in St. Louis. 


The Work at Rock Springs, Illinois 


In the spring of 1822 he moved to Rock Springs, I[lli- 
nois, in which place he lived the rest of his life. He 
had been guaranteed five dollars a week by the Massa- 
chusetts Missionary Society for time actually spent on 
the field. In this village he found some Georgia Bap- 
tists who had been parishioners of Mr. Mercer, president 
of Mercer University. He therefore organized a Baptist 
church at Rock Springs, and he was pastor of both this 
church and of the Baptist church in St.Louis. He had 
plenty to do between these two fields and his own half- 
section of land. No sooner, however, had he accomplished 
the forming of the church than he was off again on one of 
his long tours. 

On one of his horseback trips he came into contact 
and conflict with Mr. Daniel Parker, who was an ardent 
antimissionary enthusiast and a strong reactionary. They 
were both in attendance at a Baptist Association gather- 
ing. Peck was not permitted to sit in as a delegate because 
of his known missionary enthusiasm. Parker, on the 
other hand, was heartily welcomed. When the subject of 
missionary work came up for discussion the Association 
permitted Peck to talk. For over five hours Parker and 


[ 244 ] 


John Mason Peck 


Peck debated the subject of missions, most of all of 
home missions. Peck came out victorious, for the Asso- 
ciation voted to help him in his work. 

The genius, the courage, and the perseverance of Peck 
in these days were marvelous. He left an organization in 
every little hamlet or village to carry on the work. Some- 
times it was a Sunday school, or a church, or a mission 
society, or a Bible-study club, or a ladies society; always 
something for the continuing of the work of spreading 
the gospel. He was a great believer in organization. 
He formed the Green County Sunday School Associa- 
tion in 1824. He was always distributing Bibles and 
tracts. 

During the year of 1824 his rides took in a tremendous 
amount of territory. He went into the borders of Kansas 
on one trip. Starting off again, he went south through 
Kentucky and Tennessee. His work was always that of 
the pioneer. He differed much from the men of his day. 
Their works have perished; but Baptists are still building 
on Peck’s foundations. 

In 1826 he started on a journey that took him 4,400 
miles. Realizing the lack of educational facilities in the 
West, he decided to go East to see if money could be 
secured for the establishing of a school of higher educa- 
tion, especially with a view for the training of ministers. 
There were now two hundred and fifty Baptist ministers 
in this territory. Most of these men were ignorant. They 
had not had even a common-school education. Something 
must be done to raise the standard of the ministry if the 
cause of Christ was going to prosper. 

Peck therefore went to Cincinnati and then on to Wash- 
ington. While in this city he had a conference with the 


[ 245 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


President, John Quincy Adams. He was more delighted, 
however, to meet again Luther Rice, to whom he looked 
as a spiritual adviser. After the nine long years in the 
West it seemed good to Peck to fellowship with his 
brethren again. 

Everywhere he went he was greeted with enthusiasm. 
The Massachusetts Society, whose missionary he had been 
for four years, heard his report with joy. He attended 
the meetings of the Triennial Convention, the American 
Bible Society, and the Tract Society. His plans for ad- 
vance work were adopted, and they heartily concurred in 
them. All agreed that a Seminary must be established in 
Illinois. Before returning to the West he visited the 
churches of New York State and throughout New En- 
gland, raising money for this new enterprise. He collected 
six hundred and fifty-eight dollars in cash and three hun- 
dred and fourteen dollars worth of books. The Baptists 
of the East were beginning to listen now, and to support 
their representative in the West. 

He reached Rock Springs again after nine months, 
bringing his mother back with him to live. He had visited 
his old home in Litchfield, and some of his old friends 
and neighbors had looked upon him as one returned from 
the dead. Ready now for the most forward move of his 
life, he set to work with greater enthusiasm than ever. 
He had a plan for the redemption of the great Middle 
West; and he proceeded to put it into operation along 
three special lines. 


Establishment of Three Great Projects 


First was the founding of the school for which the 
Massachusetts Society had given him authority. In 


[ 246 ] 


John Mason Peck 


January of 1827 a few friends met in Peck’s home and 
organized a Literary and Theological Seminary and 
elected trustees. By the giving of ten dollars or more to 
this Seminary one was entitled to one vote for the trustees. 
Thus was started the institution which was later to 
become Shurtleff College. Peck donated the land for 
the school from his own farm, and organized a stock 
company. He was appointed superintendent of construc- 
tion, solicitor of funds, canvasser of pupils, and organizer 
of the school. Sleeping only six hours a day he gave 
himself to this enterprise. On November first “ The 
Rock Springs Theological Seminary and High School ” 
opened its doors with twenty boarding pupils, and several 
other pupils who came by the week. Two teachers had 
been engaged. Three buildings were finished. Peck did 
some teaching when he was home. The institution began 
to function by 1828 despite the determined opposition 
of the antimissionary Baptists, who had steadily opposed 
the school. 

The second big undertaking was the promoting of a 
religious paper. He found himself practically alone in 
this enterprise. Both friends and foes were pitted against 
him. They sought to reason with Peck that this was a 
foolhardy project. Even the paper published in Boston 
was a financial liability, and one published here would be 
just plunging them into debt. Why do this when the 
college needed all their resources? Nevertheless he went 
ahead. He brought Green from St. Charles, Missouri, to 
do the publishing. On December’ 2, 1828, appeared the 
first issue of “ The. Pioneer,” the first religious paper pub- 
lished west of the Ohio River. It was always a drain on 
the financial resources. Each year during the twelve years 


[247 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





of its separate existence, Peck and his friends had to 
make up a deficit of two hundred dollars. 

His third advance move was the establishing of cir- 
cuit-riders. He carefully selected these men, and then 
gave them their territory. He was desirous of reaching 
the entire pioneer West with the gospel of his Redeemer. 
In allotting their fields of service he gave them a great 
opportunity. He commissioned Lewis Williams over a 
territory as big as the State of Massachusetts. This 
system of work was so blessed of the Lord that the Massa- 
chusetts Society decided to send out a representative to 
visit Peck, to investigate his work, and to report to the 
whole denomination. In writing in his journal these 
days, Peck says: 


My mind is often deeply impressed with the thought that I am 
laboring for future generations; and that the principle inculcated 
and habits introduced in the Baptist society in this country will last 
for ages. Under what high and weighty responsibility should 
every professor, and particularly every preacher, act, who lays 
the foundation in a new country! 


The Visit of Jonathan Going 


Dr. Jonathan Going was the messenger commissioned 
by the Massachusetts Society. He arrived at Peck’s home 
on June 20, 1831. For three months they rode together 
over the immense extent of territory covered by Peck’s 
field of activity. They studied every feature of the work 
that Peck was promoting. Finally they separated in 
Shelbyville, these two men who were both seers. In his 
journal Peck wrote, ‘We agreed on the plan of The 
American Baptist Home Mission Society.” Though this 
Society was not formally organized until 1832, it was 


[ 248 ] 


John Mason Peck 


Going and Peck that share equal honors in the establish- 
ment of this mighty arm of the Baptists. 

When at home from his trips Peck did much writing. 
He was constantly receiving requests concerning the coun- 
try and its possibilities. In 1831 he published a “ Guide 
to Emigrants ””—a mine of information regarding the 
Mississippi Valley. It was a book of over three hun- 
dred pages written about the West by one who knew the 
West as well as any living man. He also wrote a sketch 
of Daniel Boone. He sold all the copyrights of his books. 

He was living in days when temperance reform was 
very unpopular. Even among the leaders of the church, 
and also with many of the ministers, there was much 
drunkenness. Peck was a strong advocate of temperance ; 
and because of that fact he was looked on as a radical. 
With his usual fearlessness he boldly gave lectures and 
preached sermons for the sake of temperance. 

Peck’s main task, however, during these few months, 
was the changing of the location of the school. He had 
realized that Rock Springs was not the place. When 
Going was with him they had discussed at considerable 
length the city where the school ought to be established. 
He finally decided to move the Seminary to Upper Alton. 
Alton Seminary opened its doors in September, 1832. 
Immediately finances became very low. Mr. Loomis, the 
principal, spent six months in the East trying to raise 
funds. He returned with four hundred and ninety dol- 
lars. The trustees turned to Peck and asked him to go 
East. He had been the main spirit in the change, and 
they felt that he could raise the amount needed. He 
went East, therefore, in the spring of 1835. He first 
visited his friend Doctor Going, and discovered that Going 


[ 249 | 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





had organized two years previous The Western Baptist 
Educational Association. This proved of very material 
help. Peck secured ten thousand dollars from Dr. Ben- 
jamin Shurtleff on the condition that the college be named 
after him. The Alton Seminary had already changed its 
name to Alton College. Now it was changed to Shurtleff 
College to secure this large gift. When Peck returned 
to Alton he had in cash and pledges about twenty thou- 
sand dollars, so the future of the college was assured. 
Shurtleff College stands today as his great educational 
monument. 


Peck a Great Organizer and Traveler 


The extent of his activities was immense. In every 
single field, where there was an opportunity to serve his 
fellow man, he served. No task was so difficult, no re- 
quirement so severe, but that he answered gladly, “ Here 
am I, send me.” He helped to organize the Illinois Bap- 
tist Education Society in 1836. He delivered two lectures 
before the legislature of the State of Illinois on “ The 
Early History of Illinois.” He met the financial panic of 
1837 by visiting the churches and securing enough funds 
to tide the college over the strain. At a meeting of the 
Illinois Baptist State Convention he was appointed its 
general agent; and a few years later he was elected presi- 
dent of that body. He gave himself without stint to the 
bringing in of the kingdom of God. 

When he was fifty years of age, he wrote to a friend 
concerning his general health. He said, ‘“‘ My liver is per- 
manently affected, my constitution seriously impaired; I 
must retire to sedentary life.’ Yet during that year he 
traveled over three thousand five hundred miles on horse- 


[ 250 ] 


John Mason Peck 


back, carriage, and steamboat. He also served as pastor 
of the Church at Rock Springs and at Bellville, [linois. 
He had gone into Northeastern Missouri, Iowa, and Ken- 
tucky with his missionary zeal. 

For five years he left his Western home to serve in 
different secretarial positions of the denomination. He 
never fully enjoyed it. He was an outdoor man, and he 
loved the open spaces. The free life of the prairie, where 
his policies were not hampered by Boards, and the great 
world of God were more according to his wishes than 
cities and office buildings. 

Peck moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in September of 
1841, and became the agent of the Western Baptist Pub- 
lication and Sunday School Society, which society was 
pledged to conduct its work “in strict cooperation with 
that in Philadelphia.” In this position he made trips into 
the South and East seeking to stimulate interest in the 
missionary work in the West. He appeared on the pro- 
gram of the Triennial Convention and made an earnest 
appeal for home-mission work on the frontier. While 
they listened to him thoughtfully and enjoyed hearing 
this earnest man of God, he found them somewhat re- 
luctant to adopt any big policy for the West. This oppo- 
sition was due to the fact that Burma and the marvelous 
story of Judson had engaged the missionary-minded Bap- 
tists; and partially to the fact that many Baptists were 
still antimissionary. 

He made another change in 1843. He became secre- 
tary of The American Baptist Publication Society, and 
arrived in Philadelphia on April 17, 1843, to assume his 
position. His family stayed at their home in Rock 
Springs, and his boy ran the farm. Peck in order to 


[ 251 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 


curtail expenses lived at the depository of the Society. 
He faced a tremendous task in this new office. Yet he 
applied himself to its solution with the same energy and 
with the unflagging zeal with which he had attacked his 
frontier problems. 

He established the system of depositories for the Pub- 
lication Society, enlarged the work of the Society’s agents 
and colporters, and sought to keep the work of missions 
before the whole denomination by the use of tracts and 
documents of the Society. At the annual meeting of the 
Society he reported that he had traveled almost nine thou- 
sand miles, this man who had said five years previous that 
he was going to seek a quieter life. 

Finances were always at low ebb those days. When 
the Foreign Mission Society reported a debt of forty 
thousand dollars, he was the first man to give toward 
its liquidation. He gave one hundred dollars to the lift- 
ing of the indebtedness and helped the Society in every 
possible way to raise the rest. Despite this tremendous 
campaign he was able to guide the Publication Society 
through the year so that they had no indebtedness. 


Peck’s Home-going 


The days of his active service were over, however. In 
May, 1846, he resigned, and with much joy turned his 
face home. He had answered the call, accepted the chal- 
lenge. He had served his denomination, had helped them 
weather the storm, had guided them to where there was 
smooth sailing. Now, he was going home. 

The last few years of his life were quiet. He did con- 
siderable preaching for the next seven years. He visited 
St. Louis often and preached. As a result of his work 


[ 252 ] 


John Mason Peck 





in that city a German Baptist Mission was founded for 
the West and a German Church in St. Louis. Peck was 
always promoting, always pushing forward in the name 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

He made his last journey east in April of 1853. Mr. 
H. G. Jones, Mr. Herman Lincoln, and he drew up a plan 
for the organization of The Baptist Historical Society. 
This plan was received and unanimously adopted. This 
was pleasing to Peck, who had thought about the matter 
for many months. 

Peck’s last years were filled with much bodily suffer 
ings. His years had been so strenuous that he had a great 
deal of pain. This hardy old pioneer had spent over a 
third of a century in seeking to build the Christian religion 
into the life of the frontier. He had given himself un- 
sparingly to the accomplishment of his God’s appointed 
objective; so determined was he to win for ek Saviour 
these American settlers. 

His home became the Mecca for many folks. To it 
people came as to a shrine, to receive inspiration and 
help. Ministers came for instruction. Denominational 
leaders came for counsel. Men of all walks of life sought 
his humble-home that they might hear Peck talk and know 
his views and receive his advice. 

With it all Peck was humble. Harvard gave him the 
degree of doctor of divinity in 1851. Men sought to 
honor him in many ways. Always in demand as a speaker, 
whenever he was able his voice continued its plea for 
home and foreign missions. When he was kept home, on 
account of sickness, he continued to write for the cause 
for which he had so gladly given his life. He wrote for 
newspapers, for magazines, and for the denominational 


[ 253 ] 


Early Baptist Missionaries and Pioneers 





press. There was always the same burning zeal for this 
great frontier. 

As the days wore on they were more full of suffering 
and of heartache. His companion and friend, his true 
helpmeet, died in 1856. Her record has not been kept by 
mortal pen as faithfully as his; but the divine scribe has 
placed her among those “ who were faithful unto death.” 
In an attempt to assuage his sorrow, after this loss he 
made a visit to Lowa where his children were living. 
On the way home he passed through Chicago, and was 
entertained while there by Mayor Boone. 

He reached home in the fall of 1857. His suffering 
was very severe. The worn, tired body was torn with 
aches and pain. They watched him and prayed for him, 
trying to lighten the sorrow and ease the pain. On Sun- 
day morning, March 14, 1858, he turned to his friend 
and said, “ Only Christ is my Saviour, my whole depen- 
dence’; and he was gone. Heaven’s gates were opened ; 
and he who served so faithfully below received the ap- 
proval of his Lord and Master. 


Christian Pioneer of the Mississippi Valley 


One author in seeking a fit tribute for him wrote, 


Baptists certainly should honor the memory of John Mason 
Peck, Baptist Missionary Bishop of the Mississippi Valley who 
ranks among the foundation-layers of the Christian commonwealth. 


Doctor Jeter said of him: 


Not only a pioneer, but a master-spirit among the pioneers. 
Perhaps no man of the class did more than he to guide the thoughts, 
mould the manners, and form the institutions of the West. 


[ 254 | 


John Mason Peck 


John Peck was a faithful follower of his Lord. From 
the time of his conversion until his death he wrought 
mightily for God. With the eye of a seer, the deter- 
mination of a soldier, and the consecration of a child of 
God he gave his life for forty years that America might 
be saved, that the West might be redeemed, that all 
men might know the Christ whom he loved and whom he 
served. 


[255 ] 





READING LIST 


“A History of American Baptist Missions,’ Edmund F. Merri- 
man. The American Baptist Publication Society, 1900. 

“The Baptist Heritage,’ George E. Horr. The Judson Press, 
1923. 

“ Outlines of Missionary History,” Alfred DeWitt Mason. George 
H. Doran Company, 1921. 

“ Following the Pioneers,” Joseph C. Robins. The Judson Press, 
1922. 

“A Hundred Years of Missions,” Delevan L. Leonard. Funk & 
Wagnalls Company, 1913. 

“ Great Missionaries of the Church,” Charles C. Creegan. Thomas 
Y. Crowell & Co., 1895. 

“Fifty Missionary Heroes,” Julia H. Johnston. Fleming H. 
Revell Company, 1913. 

“Into All the World,’ Amos R. Wells. United Society of Chris- 
tian Endeavor, 1903. 

“Wonders of Missions,’ Caroline A. Mason. George H. Doran 
Company, 1922. 

“Missionary Heroes,’ Basil T. Matthews. George H. Doran 
Company, 1922. 

“ Pioneers of Light,” L. C. and M. C. Barnes. The American 
Baptist Publication Society, 1924. 

“The World’s Debt to the Baptists,” J. W. Porter. Baptist Book 
Concern, 1914. 

“ Missionary Milestones,” Margaret R. Seebach. Council of 
Women for Home Missions, 1917. 

“Tales of Great Missionaries for Young People,” Jeanne M. 
Serell. Fleming H. Revell Company, 1922. 

“Heroes of the Cross in America,” Don O. Shelton. The Young 
People’s Missionary Movement, 1904. 


[ 257 ] 


Reading List 





“Roger Williams,’ Arthur Strickland. The Judson Press, 1919. 

“ William Carey,” S. Pearce Carey. The Judson Press, 1923. 

“The Life of Adoniram Judson,” Edward Judson. The American 
Baptist Publication Society, 1883. 

“Ann of Ava,” Ethel D. Hubbard. The American Baptist Pub- 
lication Society, 1913. 

“William Knibb,” Mrs. John J. Smith. Alexander & Shepherd, 
1896. 

“William Knibb,” R. A. L. Knight. The Carey Press, 1924. 

“The Memoir of Madame Feller,’ J. M. Cramp. W. Drysdale 
& Co. 

“Early Indian Missions,” Walter N. Wyeth. Philadelphia, Penn- 
sylvania, 1895. 


“The Life of John Mason Peck,’ A. K. DeBlois. The American 
Baptist Home Mission Society, 1917. 


PAMPHLETS 


“The Man Who Could Not Be Silent.” The Carey Press. 


“Heroes of Modern Missions,” Charles P. Chipman. The Amer- 
ican Baptist Publication Society, 1909. 


““A Few Facts About the Grande Ligne Mission,’ E. Bosworth. 
Grande-Ligne Mission. 


HEADQUARTERS 


The Carey Press, 19 Furnival Street, E. C., 4, London, England. 

The Northern Baptist Headquarters, 276 Fifth Avenue, New 
York, Gity, N.Y, 

The Southern Baptist Convention, 161 Eighth Avenue North, 
Nashville, Tennessee. 

The Canadian Baptist Convention, 223 Church Street, Toronto, 
Canada. 

The Grande-Ligne Mission, 901 New Birks Building, Montreal, 
Canada. : 


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